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ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


From  the  "National  Geographic  Magazine,"  Washington,  D.  C.     Copyrighted  191: 

A  STATUETTE  OF  EROS  PLAYING  ON  HIS  LYRE 
(height,  42  centimetres) 


ESSENTIALS  IN 
MUSIC  HISTORY 


BY 

THOMAS   TAPPER 

LECTURER   AT  NEW   YORK   UNIVERSITY   AND   AT   THE   INSTITUTE   OF 
MUSICAL  ART,   OF   THE   CITY   OF   NEW   YORK 

AND 

PERCY   GOETSCHIUS 

INSTRUCTOR  AT  THE   INSTITUTE   OF  MUSICAL  ART,   OF  THE 
CITY  OF  NEW  YORK 


NEW  YORK 

CHARLES    SCRIBNER'S    SONS 

1914 


,,S225?iJ' MUSIC  LIBRARY 
UN^ERSfTY  OF  CONNECTICUT 


Copyright,  1914,  by 
CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S   SONS 


TO 
FRANZ   KNEISEL 


In 


This  Book  is  a  gift 
from 


r^Irs.  F.S.  Wardwell 


/ 


PREFACE 

The  object  of  this  work  is  to  present,  as  the  title 
states,  the  essential  facts  in  the  history  of  music.  To 
the  text,  which  aims  to  accompHsh  this,  illustrations 
have  been  added  that  are  intimately  related  to  the  sub- 
ject-matter of  the  chapters  in  which  they  appear. 

It  is  hoped  that  the  book  will  appeal  to  the  music-lover 
as  a  simple  and  naturally  consecutive  recital  of  the 
growth  of  the  art  of  music  as  one  distinct  manifestation 
of  the  development  of  human  thought.  But  it  is  also 
intended  that  the  volume  shall  interest  and  benefit  the 
student.  For  the  purposes  of  individual  or  classroom 
instruction  the  book  will  be  found  to  provide  sufficient 
material  for  one  year's  work.  When  time  and  opportu- 
nity permit  of  collateral  reading  and  research,  suitable 
texts  may  be  selected  from  the  lists  given  in  Chapter 
XLII  (page  329  et  seq.) 

A  bibliography  of  the  subject  of  music  history  and  its 
collaterals  (aesthetics,  biography,  and  criticism)  will  be 
found  in  Chapter  XLII.  This  list  of  titles  constitutes 
a  practical  basis  for  the  formation  of  a  private  or  school 
library.  For  the  excellence  of  this  list,  and  the  privilege 
of  including  it  in  this  volume,  the  authors  are  indebted 
to  Mr.  Frank  H.  Marling,  of  New  York  City. 

In  Chapter  XLIII  there  will  be  found  selected  exami- 
nation papers  in  music  history  set  by  various  schools  and 
colleges.     These  will  provide  the  student  with  the  best 


viii  PREFACE 

evidence  as  to  the  requirements  in  such  tests.  They 
may  also  be  taken  as  models  for  the  preparation  of  orig- 
inal examination  papers. 

In  the  preparation  of  this  work  the  authors  have  en- 
joyed access  to  authoritative  sources  in  English,  French, 
and  German,  and  are  particularly  indebted  to  the  fol- 
lowing authorities: 

Geschichte  der  Musik  of  A.  W.  Ambros,  A.  von  Dommer, 
Franz  Brendel,  Emil  Naumann,  August  Reissmann. 
John  Hawkins,  General  History  of  Music.  Charles 
Burney,  General  History  of  Music.  W.  J.  von  Wasielew- 
ski,  Geschichte  der  Instrumentalmusik  im  i6.  Jahrhuiidert. 
F.  J.  Fetis,  Biographie  universelle  des  musiciens.  Gustav 
Schillmg,  U^iiversal  Lexicon  der  Tonkunst.  Carl  Engel, 
Music  of  the  Most  Ancie7it  Nations  and  Musical  Instru- 
ments. Sir  George  Grove,  Dictio?iary  of  Music  and  Musi- 
cians. Oscar  Bie,  Das  Klavier  und  sein  Meister.  J.  B. 
Weckerlln,  Les  Cha^isons  populaires  du  pays  de  France. 
Dr.  A.  Mohler,  Geschichte  der  alten  und  mittelalterischen 
Musik.  Hermann  Ritter,  Allgemeine  Encyklopddie  der 
Musik  Geschichte. 

New  York, 

September,  1914. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.     Introduction i 

II.     Music    of    the    Chinese,    Hindus,    and 

Egyptians 7 

III.  MtTsic  of  the  Israelites  and  Islamites  16 

IV.  Music  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans    .     .  23 

V.     Music  of  the  Early  Christian  Church  33 

VI.     First  Experiments  in  the  Association  of 

Parts 43 

VII.     Guido's  Successors — Mensural  Notation  52 

VIII.     Music    of    the    People.     Troubadours, 

Minstrels 61 

IX.     Music    of    the    People.     Minnesingers 

and  Meistersingers 68 

X.     Music  OF  the  People.  Strolling  Players, 

Folk  Songs,  Instruments 79 

XL     Rise  and   Progress  of  Artistic   Music. 

Earliest  Schools  of  Counterpoint     .  88 

XII.     The  Dutch  School  of  Counterpoint      .  98 

XIII.  The  Influence  of  the  Dutch  School    .  106 

XIV.  Orlando  di  Lasso       114 

XV.     Pierluigi  da  Palestrina.    Italian 

Schools.    England 121 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XVI.     The  Music  of  the  Protestant  Church. 

The  German  Chorale 130 

XVII.     Rise  of  the  Dramatic  Style  of  Music. 

Oratorio  and  Opera  in  Italy     .     .     .     141 

XVIII.     Early  Era  of  Oratorio  in  Germany      .     152 

XIX.  Development  of  an  Independent  In- 
strumental Style.     The  Organ  .     .     .     160 

XX.  Instrumental  Music.  The  Clavichord, 
Harpsichord,  and  other  Keyboard 
Instruments 170 

XXI.  Cultivation  of  the  Clavichord  Style. 
Other  Instruments.  The  Primary 
Orchestra 179 

XXII.     Dramatic  Music  in  Italy.     Later  Era  .     190 

XXIII.  The  Opera  in   France  and  England  in 

THE  Seventeenth  and  Eighteenth  Cen- 
turies      198 

XXIV.  The  Opera  in  Germany 207 

XXV.     George  Frederick  Handel 216 

XXVI.     JoHANN  Sebastian  Bach.     Comparison  of 

Bach  and  Handel 221 

XXVII.     Operetta  AND  Opera  in  Germany.    Gluck. 

Mozart  as  Opera  Composer    ....     230 

XXVIII.  Progress  and  Perfection  of  the  Instru- 
mental Style.  Carl  Philipp  Emanuel 
Bach  and  Joseph  Haydn 239 

XXIX.     Mozart  as  Instrumental  Composer.     His 

Immediate  Successors 246 

XXX.     Ludwig  van  Beethoven 252 

XXXI.     Franz  Schubert 258 


CONTENTS  xl 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XXXII.     Romantic  School  of  Opera  in  Germany. 
Carl    Maria    von    Weber.     Opera    in 

Other  Countries 265 

XXXIII.  Romantic   School   of   Instrumentai 

Music.     Felix  Mendelssohn  ....  274 

XXXIV.  Robert  Schumann 279 

XXXV.     Frederic  Chopin 284 

XXXVI.     The    Hyper-Romantic    School.     Hector 

Berlioz.     Franz  Liszt 287 

XXXVII.     Richard  Wagner 294 

XXXVIII.     Johannes  Brahms 299 

XXXIX.     Reference  Lists  of  Musical  Celebrities 

OF  THE  Nineteenth  Century    ....  303 

XL.     The  Present  Era 315 

XLI.     Music  in  America 321 

XLII.     The  Essentials  of  a  Music  Library      .  329 

XLIII.     Examination    Papers  in  Music  History, 

Set  by  Schools  and  Colleges     .     .     .  353 

Index       361 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

A  Statuette  of  Eros  Playing  on  His  Lyre Frontispiece 


PACE 


Negrite  Playing  a  Nose  Flute 3 

Primitive  Musical  Instruments 5 

The  Chinese  Tscheng  (Cheng) 7 

The  Chinese  Gong,  or  Tamtam 8 

The  Chinese  King 9 

The  Chinese  Ch'in,  or  Kin 9 

A  Bengalee  Girls'  Band  at  School lo 

The  Vina ii 

The  Serinda ii 

The  Music  of  a  Funeral I2 

Harp-Player 13 

Small  Egyptian  Harp 13 

Double-Pipe,    Rhythmical   Accompaniment  of  the   Hands,   the 

Harp,  and  Two  Tambouras 13 

Harp  of  Thirteen  Strings 14 

Dancing  to  the  Crotola IS 

The  Sistrum 17 

Cymbals 17 

The  Psaltery 17 

The  Shophar,  or  Ram's  Horn 19 

Hebrew  Coins  Showing  the  Lyre 19 

An  Oriental  Lute 20 

French  Rebec 22 

Music  at  the  Panathenaean  Festival 24 

A  Music  Lesson 25 

Greek  Musical  Notation 27 


xm 


xiv  ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 


Greek  Cithara 28 

Greek  Lyre 28 

Greek  Lyre 29 

Greek  Cithara 29 

Roman  Instruments 31 

Roman  Drums 31 

Signal  Horn 31 

Roman  Flutes 32 

St.  Ambrose 35 

Neuma  Notation  of  the  Tenth  Century 38 

Neuma  Script,  Eleventh  Century 40 

Primitive  Organ 41 

Crwth 41 

Lyre 43 

A  Tenth-Century  Harp 45 

Psaltery 46 

Guido  of  Arezzo  and  Bishop  Theodal  with  the  Monochord      .     .  48 

Organistrum 51 

A  Class  in  Music 54 

An  Organ  of  the  Tenth  Century 58 

Antiphonarium 59 

A  Three-String  Vielle 62 

Instrumental  Performer 64 

Vielle 65 

Organ  with  Bellows  Worked  by  Levers 67 

The  Singing  Contest  at  the  Wartburg 69 

Heinrich  von  Meissen,  called  Frauenlob 72 

Hans  Sachs 73 

Manuscript  by  Hans  Sachs 74 

The  Crusader "]"] 

Dudelsack  Player 80 


ILLUSTRATIONS  xv 


PAGE 


Strolling  Players 8i 

Instrumental  Musicians 86 

Military  Instruments  of  the  Middle  Ages 87 

From  the  "Margarita  Philosophica" 100 

Ti tie-Page  to  a  Work  by  Hermann  Finck 107 

Adrian  Willaert 108 

Jans  Pieters  Sweelinck 112 

Orlando  di  Lasso 115 

Palestrina 122 

Palestrina's  Birthplace 123 

Title-Page    of   the    Wittemberg  "Sacred    Song    Book"    (Tenor 

Part),  1524 132 

Ludwig  Senfl 136 

Hans  Leo  Hassler 137 

Johann  Hermann  Schein 139 

Stage  Setting  of  Shakespeare's  "Henry  IV,"  at  the  Red   Bull 

Theatre,  London,  1600 142 

An  Italian  Parody 148 

Alessandro  Scarlatti 149 

Domenico  Scarlatti 150 

Heinrich  Schiitz 154 

Theorbo  (to  the  left),  Chitarrone  (centre),  Archlute  (to  the  right)  155 

Angel  with  Lute 157 

Sigismundus  Theophilus  Staden 158 

Musical  Instruments  of  the  Early  Sixteenth  Century     ....  161 

A  "Book"  Organ 162 

Fourteenth-Century  Organ 163 

Early  Portative  Organ 164 

Organ  of  the  Early  Seventeenth  Century 165 

Girolamo  Frescobaldi 166 

Primitive  Spinet,  about  1440 171 

A  Clavichord,  1440 171 


xvi  ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 


Italian  Spinet 172 

Dulcimer 173 

Upright  Harpsichord 174 

Cristofori  Piano 176 

Fran9ois  Couperin 180 

J.  Ph.  Rameau 182 

Johann  Kuhnau 185 

Antonio  Stradivari 188 

Nicolo  Piccini 193 

Giovanni  Paesiello 194 

Agostino  Steffani 196 

Zingarelli,  Sarti,  Tritto,  Paisiello 197 

Jean  Baptiste  Lully 199 

One  of  the  Twenty-Four  "Violons  du  Roy" 200 

Fran9ois  Joseph  Gossec 202 

Andre  Danican 204 

Henry  Purcell 205 

Carl  Heinrich  Graun 208 

Joh.  Ad.  Hasse 209 

Faustina  Hasse 209 

Johann  Mattheson 214 

George  Frederick  Handel 217 

Facsimile  of  a  Music  Transcript  by  Handel 219 

Bach's  Birthplace,  Eisenach,  Thuringia 222 

Johann  Ambrosius  Bach 223 

Johann  Sebastian  Bach 224 

Wilhelm  Friedmann  Bach 225 

Johann  Adam  Hiller 231 

Carl  von  Dittersdorf 232 

G.  Benda 232 

J.  F.  Reichardt 233 


ILLUSTRATIONS  xvii 


PAGE 


Christoph  Willibald  Gluck 233 

W.  A.  Mozart 236 

Joseph  Haydn 241 

Philipp  Emanuel  Bach 242 

Silhouette  Portrait  of  Joseph  Haydn 243 

Leopold  Mozart,  1759 247 

Mozart 247 

Muzio  Clementi 249 

Johann  Nepomuk  Hummel 250 

Beethoven  Medallion 253 

Johann  Georg  Albrechtsberger 254 

Franz  Schubert 259 

Antonio  Salieri 260 

Schubert's  Clavier 262 

Schubert's  Birthplace,  Vienna 263 

Heinrich  Marschner 266 

Carl  Maria  von  Weber 267 

Etienne  Mehul 269 

Luigi  Cherubini 270 

Giacomo  Meyerbeer 271 

Jules  Massenet 271 

Giuseppe  Verdi 272 

Modeste  Mussorgski 273 

Felix  Mendelssohn-Bartholdy 275 

Mendelssohn's  Jagers  Abschied 278 

Robert  Schumann 280 

Clara  Schumann       281 

Frederic  Chopin        285 

Hector  Berlioz 288 

Franz  Liszt 290 

Richard  Wagner 295 


xviii  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Johannes  Brahms 300 

Joachim  Raff 305 

Carl  Reinecke 306 

Peter  Cornelius 306 

Anton  Rubinstein 307 

Camille  Saint-Saens 308 

Pieter  Ilyitch  Tschaikowsky 308 

A  Group  of  Russian  Composers 309 

Anton  Dvorak 310 

Edward  Grieg 31° 

Edward  Elgar 311 

Cesar  Franck 316 

Gustave  Charpentier 317 

Richard  Strauss 317 

Lowell  Mason 322 

Theodore  Thomas 3^4 

Leopold  Damrosch 325 

Stephen  C.  Foster 327 

F.  J.  Fetis 331 

Edward  Dickinson 333 

Philip  Spitta 33^ 

Otto  Jahn 338 

Carl  Glasenapp 339 

Henry  E.  Krehbiel 34° 

W.  J.  Henderson 34^ 

James  Huneker 34^ 

E.  Hanslick 344 


ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


ESSENTIALS  IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

CHAPTER  I 
INTRODUCTION 

Of  the  practice  of  music  before  the  dawn  of  civiHsa- 
tion  we  know  nothing.  Of  its  practice  by  primitive 
peoples  of  to-day  we  have  the  records  and  observations 
of  travellers  and  explorers;  these,  while  of  interest  from 
the  ethnological  point  of  view,  are  totally  without  value 
in  their  bearing  upon  what  the  critic  and  music  lover 
recognise  as  music.  Neither  the  ancient  nations  nor  ex- 
isting primitive  tribes  have  contributed  anything  to  the 
art  of  music,  as  we  practise  it,  that  is  in  the  slightest 
degree  significant. 

The  history  of  music,  then,  must  deal  primarily  with 
what  we  recognise  as  its  artistic  product.  Of  this  prod- 
uct we  have  the  exact  written  and  printed  record  in 
music  itself,  extending  back  only  a  few  hundred  years. 
All  attempts  at  presenting  the  music  of  ancient  nations 
in  our  present-day  notation  are  pure  conjecture.  From 
the  theoretical  treatises  that  have  come  down  to  us,  some 
of  them  amazingly  elaborate  and  detailed,  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  determine  what  tone  successions  and  combinations 
"fell  with  delight  upon  the  ear."  In  the  Bible,  in  Plato's 
Republic,  in  the  A^iahasis  of  Xenophon,  music  is  referred 
to  in  terms  that  indicate  how  important  a  part  it  must 
have  pla3'ed  in  daily  life.  But  the  tones  which  Jubal 
produced  from  the  "organ,"  the  "ancient  songs"  that 
the  Greek  children  sang  in  school,  the  martial  strains 
that  cheered  the  Ten  Thousand,  the  songs  of  the  sailors 


2  ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

of  the  ^gean  Sea  are  gone  for  ever.  What  we  do  know 
of  rnusic  in  ancient  times  is  that  it  was  given  an  hon- 
oured place  both  in  domestic  and  ceremonial  Hfe,  but 
of  the  music  itself  not  the  faintest  echo  can  reach  us. 

It  may  be  surmised  that  the  first  vague  expressions  of 
musical  impulse  were  the  vocal  utterances  of  elementary 
emotional  states  that  have  existed  from  the  beginning 
of  human  life  on  the  earth.  These  utterances  were  not 
what  we  should  now  accept  as  music;  they  were  differ- 
entiated but  little,  if  at  all,  from  the  tones  of  birds  and 
animals.  It  was  not  until  human  self-consciousness  was 
considerably  developed  that  these  utterances  began  to 
proceed  from  an  inner  emotional  impulse  and  became 
to  some  extent  the  more  or  less  appropriate  reflection 
of  a  definite  phase  of  conscious  feeling — of  an  intelli- 
gence capable  of  defining  the  necessary  structural  co-ordi- 
nation and  refinement  of  detail. 

It  may  be  safely  assumed  that  none  of  the  so-called 
music  of  ancient  and  of  primitive  races  was  elevated 
very  far  above  the  purely  physical  or  animal  utterance. 
However,  we  cannot  believe  that  the  ancient  Egyptians, 
Chinese,  Hindus,  Israelites,  and  Greeks  were  indifferent 
to  music.  They  regarded  it  with  great  interest  and  ap- 
parently held  it  in  veneration.  They  wrote  many  trea- 
tises about  it;  each  nation  developed  a  theory  of  music 
quite  different  from  that  of  the  others,  and  some  of  these 
theories  are  surprisingly  profound  and  thorough.  But 
despite  any  evidence  we  can  find  to  the  contrary  they 
were  lifeless  theories  which,  apparently,  were  not  and 
could  not  be  put  to  practical  use. 

Of  the  three  fundamentals  of  music,  melody,  rhythm, 
and  harmony,  the  ancient  and  primitive  peoples  undoubt- 
edly attached  far  the  greatest  importance  to  rhythm. 
Their  melodies  were  almost  certainly  artificial  and  de- 
void of  what  we  recognise  as  true  musical  feeling.  Of 
harmony  there  is  nowhere  among  any  of  the  records 
of  the  ancient  nations  the  slightest  trace;   and  undoubt- 


INTRODUCTION 


edly  for  the  reason  that  harmony  is  that  element  of  mu- 
sic which  can  be  born  of  nothing  less  than  a  conscious 
and  definite  apprehension  of  tone  relationship,  not  alone 
in  a  mathematical  but  essentially  in  an  emotional  sense. 

The  sometimes  too  credulous  and  enthusiastic  inter- 
pretations of  these  ancient  writings  on  music  must,  there- 
fore, be  viewed  with  caution 
and  accepted  with  consider- 
able reserve.  Up  to  the  be- 
ginning of  the  Christian  era 
there  exists  no  positive  evi- 
dence of  any,  even  the  most 
primitive,  systems  of  tone 
combination.  The  melodies 
that  may  have  existed  were 
not  recorded  in  a  form  that 
admits  of  reproduction,  and 
no  one  now  knows  how  they 
sounded.  Judging  from  the 
subtle  conditions  which  regu- 
late our  modern  melody  and 
from  the  attitude  and  actual 
musical  attainment  of  the 
overwhelming  majority  of 
music  listeners  even  in  our 
enlightened  age,  it  must  be 
concluded  that  these  ancient 
melodies  could  have  been  no 

more  than  fragments  of  tone  succession,  with  no  more  in- 
herent evidence  of  tone  sense  than  might  be  expected  of 
the  rudest  natural  instinct. 

Rhythm  was  probably  the  most  completely  system- 
atised  element  in  ancient  music;  for  the  rhythmic  sense  is 
not  only  aroused  by  the  movements  of  the  body  but  is  in- 
herent in  the  vital  mechanism  of  the  body  itself.  Rhythm 
is  a  physiological  fact  to  which  the  primitive  mind  must 
respond,  by  nature  and  necessity,  more  quickly  than  to 


From  the  "National  Geographic  Magazine," 
Washington,  D.  C.     Copyrighted  191 2. 

NEGRFTE  PLAYING  A  NOSE  FLUTE 


4  ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

any  other  less  material  impulse.  Hence  the  well-nigh 
universal  practice  of  the  dance  either  as  spontaneous 
expression  of  pleasure  or  as  an  integral  part  of  cere- 
monial performance.  The  probably  rational,  regular, 
and  varied  rhythmic  forms  found  ready  expression 
upon  the  drums  and  other  instruments  of  percussion 
which  apparently  abounded  among  ancient  peoples,  and 
most  prominently  among  those  known  to  have  been 
the  least  emotional.  The  profusion  of  musical  instru- 
ments, both  wind  and  string,  which  might  bias  our  cor- 
rect judgment  of  the  musical  culture  of  the  older  na- 
tions, is  more  than  likely  but  one  further  proof  of  the 
essentially  inartistic  nature  of  their  music;  for  the  di- 
rect and  fundamental  expression  of  real  feeling  is  vocal. 
It  is  not  until  the  emotional  impulse  has  passed  that  we 
turn  to  the  less  direct  and  more  mechanical  reproduc- 
tion upon  an  instrument,  of  that  which  is  vocally  ex- 
pressed. Instrumental  utterance  is  opposed  to  vocal, 
precisely  as  physical  manifestations  are  consequent  upon 
emotional  states,  and  the  nations  which  in  early  days 
possessed  the  largest  inventory  of  musical  instruments 
were  probably  the  ones  which  had  the  crudest  and  most 
elementary  perception  of  music  as  a  truly  emotional 
vehicle. 

Further,  the  undoubted  existence  of  a  well-developed 
and,  in  its  way,  logical  music  theory,  the  volumes  of 
essays  and  treatises  upon  music,  such  as  are  found  among 
ancient  peoples,  are  not  conclusive  evidence  that  real 
music,  in  any  artistic  sense,  actually  existed.  They  do 
prove,  however,  the  universal  susceptibility  of  the  human 
mind  and  soul  to  the  mysterious  power  of  music.  These 
ancient  peoples  felt  the  influence  of  tone  without  really 
knowing  much  that  was  vital  about  it,  just  as  one  may 
feel  electricity  without  possessing  the  remotest  knowl- 
edge of  what  it  is,  and  yet  be  able  to  write  voluminously 
about  the  sensations  and  conjectures  it  stimulates. 

Hence,  it  is  more  than  likely  that  music  as  the  art  of 


INTRODUCTION  5 

tone  combination,  based  upon  the  natural  laws  of  tone 
relation,  was  totally  unknown  to  any  one  of  the  ancient 
races  before  the  Christian  era;  that  their  musical 
practices  were  at  first  but  little  different  from  purely 
elementary  emotional  utterance,  and  even  when  advanced 
and   systematised  were  still  crude  in  the  extreme;    and 


Copyrighted  by  Underwood  &  Underwood. 

PRIMITIVE  MUSICAL   INSTRUMENTS 
(central  Africa) 

that  possibly  the  best,  most  natural,  and  instinctively 
musical  expressions  were  those  of  the  Egyptian,  Indian, 
Greek,  or  Hebrew  toiler  who  could  not  help  lightening 
his  task — ^just  as  the  unsophisticated  toiler  of  the  pres- 
ent age  does — by  some  sort  of  vocal  expression  that  may 
have  been  akin  to  song  and  which  may  have  crystallised 
into  recognisable  forms,  repeated  and  handed  down  as 
possible  types  of  the  melodies  which  were  used  in  the 
services  of  the  early  Christian  church. 

From  the  fact  that  many  of  the  ancient  nations  ascribe 
the  invention  of  music  to  a  god  are  we  made  aware  of 
its  great  antiquity.     Its  origin  is  thus  accounted  for  in 


6  ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

many  mythologies.  The  scientists,  turning  from  these 
reverential  and  poetic  attempts  at  explaining  the  remote 
and  uncertain,  have  disposed  of  the  question  in  ways 
widely  at  variance  with  one  another. 

The  naturalist  Charles  Darwin  presented  the  hypothe- 
sis that  both  melody  (tones)  and  rhythm  (movement) 
were  first  acquired  by  the  male  progenitors  of  the  race 
for  the  sole  purpose  of  attracting  the  opposite  sex.* 
Herbert  Spencer  has  advanced  the  theory  that  "song 
employs  and  exaggerates  the  natural  language  of  the 
emotions,"  that  "vocal  music,  and  by  consequence  all 
music,  is  an  idealisation  of  the  natural  language  of  pas- 
sion." 

Richard  Wallaschek,  whose  Primitive  Music  is  a  most 
noteworthy  contribution,  advances  this  opinion:  "It  is 
with  music  as  with  language;  however  far  we  might  de- 
scend in  the  order  of  primitive  people,  we  should  prob- 
ably find  no  race  which  did  not  exhibit  at  least  some 
trace  of  musical  aptitude  and  sufficient  understanding  to 
turn  it  to  account."  f 

*  Charles  Darwin,  Descent  of  Man,  vol.  II,  chap.  19. 
t  Primitive  Music,  chap.  I. 


CHAPTER  II 

MUSIC  OF  THE  CHINESE,  HINDUS,  AND  EGYPTIANS 

Far  from  treating  music  with  indifference,  the  ancient 
Chinese  regarded  it  as  worthy  of  scientific  observation 
and  study.  They  wrote  many  treatises  on  the  subject, 
the  oldest  of  which  appeared  in  the  eleventh  century  B.  C. 
Such  historic  records  as  we  possess  indicate  that  their 
conception  and  practice  of  music  were  dull  and  lifeless. 
Thev  seem  never  to    have    discovered  its    artistic   and 


THE  CHINESE  TSCHENG  (CHENG) 


emotional  possibilities,  even  as  contained  within  their 
fairly  definite  scale  form.  This  scale — pentatonic,  or 
five-toned — was  without  the  minor  second  interval  and 
may  have  resembled  somewhat  the  modern  Scotch  scale.* 
Subsequently  this  scale  of  five  tones  was  extended  to 
seven  and  embraced  a  compass  of  two  octaves. 

The  musical  traditions  of  the  Chinese  and  their  prin- 
cipal applications  of  the  art  were  associated  with  religion 
and  a  curiously  ponderous  symbolism.  The  following 
tone  succession,  which  is  said  still  to  be  sung  annually 
in  the  temple  in  honour  of  the  departed,  is  one  of  the 
oldest  known  melodies: 

*The  tone  succession  was  probably  this: 


-o &- 


-«? ^- 


ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


d: 


=1 


t=\-=^- 


V%¥=S=\ 


2:ze: 


tzzt: 


-(2- 


^—^1 


'-a- 


ttzz^zd 


:=1=q= 


-^- 


-s^- 


i 


t^ 


It  will  be  observed  that  this  melody  is  based  upon  the 
five-tone  scale.     The  slurs  are  here  added  to  indicate  the 


THE  CHINESE  GONG,  OR  TAMTAM 


regular  and  metrical  structure,  which  is  noteworthy;  so, 
too,  is  the  key-note  instinct;  the  prevailing  tone  at  be- 
ginning, middle,  and  end  being  F.  Despite  these  evi- 
dences of  something  akin  to  genuine  musical  instinct,  the 
melody  is  clumsy  and  untuneful. 

There  exists  nowhere  in  Chinese  music  the  slightest 
trace  of  tone  combination  in  a  harmonious  sense.  They 
have  always  used  a  large  number  and  variety  of  instru- 
ments;   most   of  them,   however,   in   keeping  with  their 


CHINESE,  HINDU,  AND   EGYPTIAN  9 

primitive  conception  of  sound,  were  nois}^  instruments  of 
percussion,  whose  chief  office  it  was  to  mark  the  rhythm. 
Their  principal  instruments  are  the  gong,  or  tamtam, 
the  king,  the  tscheng,  and  the  ch'in  (or  kin). 


THE  CHINESE  KING 


Sharply  contrasted  with  Chinese  musical  practice  was, 
and  is,  the  musical  life  of  the  Hindustani.  The  Hindus 
put  the  same  m3^sterious  and  poetic  construction  upon 


CHINESE  CH'IN,  OR  KIN 


music  that  pervades  their  entire  thought  and  civiHsation. 
At  the  present  day  Hindu  music  displays  a  noteworthy 
quality  of  theoretic  and  practical  development,  but  there 
is  no  proof  that  this  was  the  case  in  ancient  times. 
Music  appears  to  have  been  always  greatly  prized  and 
extensively  employed,  and  not  exclusively  in  connec- 
tion with  religious  customs  but  also  in  public  and  pri- 
vate life. 


lO 


ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


Hindu  musical  theory  was  extremely  extensive  and 
thorough.  The  Hindus  based  their  practice  upon  a  suc- 
cession of  seven  tones,  which  is  singularly  like  our  modern 
major  scale.  To  these  seven  tones  they  gave  melodious 
names,  which  were  abbreviated  in  singing  to  the  first 
syllable,  resulting  in  the  following  series: 

Sa,     Ri,     Ga,     Ma,     Pa,     Dha,     Ni     (Sa). 

This  significant  analogy  with  the  modern  system  of 
Guidonian  (and  subsequent)  syllables — Do,  Re,  Mi,  Fa, 
Sol,  La,  Ti  (Do)  (see  Chapter  VI) — and  the  coincidence 


A   BENGALEE  GIRLS'   BAND  AT  SCHOOL 

(they    are    playing   the    VINA,    AN    INSTRUMENT   OF   GREAT   ANTIQUITY) 


of  the  Hindu  scale  with  our  scientifically  established 
major  scale  seem  chiefly  to  vindicate  the  unity  of  human 
thought  when  guided  by  true,  natural  instinct. 

The  seven-tone  Hindu  scale  was  divided  into  twenty- 
two  so-called  struti,  or  quarter-tones.  But,  as  there 
should  be  twenty-four  quarter-tones  within  the  octave, 
their  theory  betrays  a  palpable  error,  which  must  be,  and 
doubtless  is,  corrected  in  practice. 

Very  numerous  examples  of  Hindu  melody  have  been 
collected  and  noted  down,  chiefly  by  English  explorers. 
That  many  of  them  should  exhibit  musical  charm  and 
natural  melodious  expression  may  be  due  to  the  fact 
that  they  are  of  recent  date  and  have  been  influenced  to 
some  extent  by  modern  European  musical  culture.     There 


CHINESE,  HINDU,  AND   EGYPTIAN         ii 

is  no  proof  that  the}^  possess  great  antiquity.  The  rhyth- 
mic structure  is  interesting  and  natural  and  the  forms 
are  S3^mmetrical. 

The  melodies  are  transmitted  orally  from  teacher  to 
scholar,  and  thus  their  preservation  depends  chiefly  upon 
memory  and  tradition.     Nevertheless,  the  Hindus  use  a 


THE  VINA 


primitive  sort  of  musical  notation  by  letters,  declared  by 
the  distinguished  historian  Fetis  to  be  the  oldest  in  ex- 
istence. Five  tones  of  the  scale  are  designated  by  the 
consonants  which  appear  in  their  names  and  the  other 
two  by  the  short  vowels  a  and  i:  long  vowels  denote 
double  time-values;    and  all  other  directions  are  given, 


THE  SERINDA 


partly  by  a  number  of  curved  lines  and  partly  by  ad- 
joined words. 

The  musical  instruments  of  the  Hindus  were  not  nu- 
merous, but  appear  to  have  been  (or,  at  least,  are  at  the 
present  day)  possessed  of  genuine  musical  quality  and  in- 
genious mechanism.    The  two  most  characteristic  instru- 


12 


ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


ments  are  the  vina  and  the  serinda.  The  vina  is  a 
cyUndrical  tube  three  to  four  feet  in  length;  the  reso- 
nance is  produced  by  two  hollow  gourds  attached,  one  at 
each  end,  on  the  under  side.  The  strings  are  plucked 
(as  in  playing  the  modern  banjo)  with  a  sort  of  metal 
thimble.  The  tone  is  clear,  resonant,  and  agreeable. 
The  serinda  is  much  like  our  violin;   it  has  three  strings 


THE  MUSIC  OF  A  FUNERAL 
(from  a  tomb  at  Thebes) 


and  is  played  with  a  bow.  Great  antiquity  is  ascribed 
to  it,  so  that  it  may  be  regarded  as  the  oldest  progenitor 
of  our  group  of  violins. 

The  music  of  the  Egyptians  is  believed  to  be  of  great 
antiquity.  Of  its  character  in  ancient  times  nothing  is 
known;  but  the  conjecture,  based  upon  the  numerous 
instruments  they  possessed,  seems  reasonable  that  their 
practice  of  music  was  extremely  extensive.  The  multi- 
tude of  pictures  on  the  walls  of  Egyptian  tombs  afford 
an  insight  into  the  life,  religious  and  private,  of  the 
people,  and  everywhere  proofs  abound  of  the  degree  and 
manner  of  their  musical  occupations.  There  we  find  de- 
picted harps  of  all  shapes  and  sizes,  numerous  varieties 
of  l3Ares  and  of  single  and  double  flutes.  These  instru- 
ments are  manipulated  in  many  instances  by  large  bod- 


CHINESE,  HINDU,  AND   EGYPTIAN         13 


ies  of  musicians,  while  singers  of  both  sexes  stand  near. 
Music  accompanied  almost  every  religious  and  social 
function:  the  sacrifice,  the  dance,  the  dirge,  and  the 
festival.  Most  prominent  among 
their  instruments  is,  everywhere, 
the  harp,  to  which  they  gave  the 


HARP-PLAYER 

(MEMPHIS) 

melodious  name  tebunJ.  The 
Greeks  ascribe  the  invention  of  the 
flute  to  the  Egyptians.  small  Egyptian  harp 

Egyptian  music  was,  doubtlessly, 
of  the  same  primitive,  crude  character  as  that  of  other 
ancient  nations.  Sir  Edward  William  Lane  collected  a 
number  of  Egyptian  melodies  in  1836,  claimed  by  them 
to  be  of  extremely  remote  origin,  but  they  afford  no  re- 
liable clew  to  the  character  of  early  Egyptian  music. 
The  melodies  are  based  upon  a  tetrachord,  or  four-tone 


DOUBLE-PIPE,  RHYTHMICAL  ACCOMPANIMENT  OF  THE  HANDS, 
THE  HARP,  AND  TWO  TAMBOURAS 


14 


ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


scale — the  same  primitive  series  which,  constituting  the 
basis  of  all  Greek  musical  theory  and  practice,  found  its 
way  into  the  subsequent  systems  of  early  European 
musical  scholars. 


{:: 


•zzfjut 


F=1===: 


The  rhythmic  formation  of  these  (modern)  Egyptian 
tunes  is  very  regular  and  interesting,  though  simple. 
This,  however,  is  no  proof  of  similar  perfection  of  their 
ancient  forms,  for  the  influence  of  European  music  can- 
not have  failed  to  reach  these,  as  it  has  all  other  semi- 


HARP  OF  THIRTEEN   STRINGS 


CHINESE,  HINDU,  AND   EGYPTIAN         15 

civilised  races.  Here,  again,  not  the  remotest  reference 
to  or  indication  of  a  harmonic  S3^stem  can  be  found. 
And  no  system  of  notation  was  ever  known  to  them  or 
used  by  them. 

The  Egj^ptians  possessed  many  forms  of  musical  instru- 
ments; among  them  the  double  pipe,  the  tamboura,  the 
crotola,  and  a  great  variety  of  harps. 


DANCING  TO  THE  CROTOLA 


CHAPTER  III 
MUSIC  OF  THE   ISRAELITES  AND  ISLAMITES 

Because  of  their  relation  to  the  Christian  religion  our 
interest  and  sympathy  are  more  intimately  aroused  and 
deeply  touched  by  the  history  of  the  ancient  Hebrews 
than  by  that  of  any  contemporaneous  race.  And,  there- 
fore, is  our  curiosity  greater  and  the  disposition  to  attach 
unusual  importance  to  their  music  stronger  than  that 
impelled  by  the  historic  accounts  of  music  among  other 
nations  of  antiquity. 

It  is  generally  assumed  that  in  former  times  music 
attained  a  comparatively  high  degree  of  significance  and 
perfection  among  the  children  of  Israel.  In  probable 
consequence  of  this  it  had  a  very  direct  bearing  upon 
the  music  of  the  early  Christian  church,  quite  as  im- 
portant, in  fact,  as  that  which  w^as  exerted  by  the  well- 
preserved  musical  theory  of  the  Greeks,  if,  indeed,  not 
more  so.  Both  Hebrew  poetry  and  Hebrew  music  seem 
to  have  served  from  the  beginning  no  other  purpose 
whatever  than  to  extol  Jehovah  and  to  proclaim  and 
emphasise  divine  ideas  and  ideals.  The  Old  Testament 
abounds  in  passages  which  refer  not  only  to  the  office 
of  music  as  employed  in  the  temple  service  and  on  other 
festival  occasions,  but  they  indicate  in  detail  the  manner 
of  its  treatment  and  the  instruments  to  be  employed. 
Many  instances  attest  this:  Miriam's  Song  of  Triumph; 
the  welcome  of  King  Saul  with  the  sound  of  psalters  and 
tabret,  lute,  and  cyther;  and  the  ovation  to  David  upon 
his  return  from  the  overthrow  of  the  PhiHstines. 

While  in  other  countries    at  this   early  period    music 

i6 


THE  ISRAELITES  AND  ISLAMITES 


17 


was  chiefly  a  secular  amusement,  it  expressed  in  Israel 
the  impulse  to  higher  and  truer  development  in  the 
service  of  a  fervent  religious  belief.  Most  conspicuous 
among  the  historic  names  in  early  Jewish  history  is  that 
of  David.  He  it  was  who  founded  the  temple  music, 
confirmed  the  privileges  of  the  Levites,  and  conferred 
definite  authority  upon  the  musical  divisions  of  the 
tribe.  Himself  an  ardent  lover  of  music,  he  seldom  ap- 
pears  in    Bible   narrative   to    act   or   speak  without   the 


THE  SISTRUM 


CYMBALS 


THE   PSALTERY 


accompaniment  of  music  in  some  form — either  he  per- 
forms upon  the  harp  himself  or  he  directs  the  musical 
practices  of  his  followers. 

Of  the  nature  of  ancient  Hebrew  melody  no  definite 
conception  can  be  formed,  but  it  is  safe  to  conjecture  that, 
from  its  uses  and  associations,  it  must  have  been  solemn 
and  dignified  of  character,  possibly  something  akin  to  the 
monotonous  chant,  within  narrow  compass,  established 
by  Pope  Gregory  in  the  early  service  of  the  Christian 
church.  The  religious  chants  must  certainly  have  evinced 
less  rhythmic  vitality  than  were  native  to  their  festival, 
secular,  and  martial  melodies.  These  must  have  been 
more  vigorous  and  rhythmically  diversified.  Of  harmony 
there  is,  even  among  so  significant  a  people,  not  the  re- 
motest evidence. 

The  Hebrew  mode  of  singing  in  the  temple  and  syna- 
gogue was  probably  antiphonal  or  alternating,  either  be- 


ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


tween  priest  and  congregation,  or  precentor  and  choir, 
or  between  groups  of  singers.  This  is  impHed  by  many 
passages  in  scriptural  poetry,  especially  in  the  Psalms. 
For  instance,  in  the  thirty-eighth  Psalm,  which  consists 
wholly  of  responsive  lines,  we  find  this  example  of  an- 
tiphonal  worship: 

Priest. — "O  Lord,  rebuke  me  not  in  Thy  wrath," 
Congregation. — "Neither  chasten  me  in  Thy  hot  displeasure;" 
Priest. — "For  Thine  arrows  stick  fast  in  me," 
Congregation. — "And  Thy  hand  presseth  me  sore." 

The  Hebrew  form  of  scale  was,  no  doubt,  one  of  four 
tones,  the  tetrachord,  which  seems  to  have  been  univer- 
sal in  ancient  times.  A  melodic  fragment  like  the  fol- 
lowing, still  used  in  the  synagogue  and  declared  to  be  of 
extreme  antiquity,  indicates  the  application  of  the  tetra- 
chord : 


-ft — — - 


Hear       ye, 


Is    -    ra  -  el, 


the       Lord 


most 


m 


ho     -    ly, 


He 


lone 


your    God." 


Some  historians  have  surmised  that  the  tones  to  be 
used  with  a  line  of  text  were  indicated  by  the  accents  of 
Hebrew  script.  Whether  this  conjecture  be  true  or  not, 
there  is  no  evidence  of  any  other  method  of  notation. 

While  Hebrew  instruments  were  very  numerous,  they 
were  primitive  and  imperfect.  In  the  one  hundred  and 
fiftieth  Psalm  (3-6),  nearly  the  whole  ** orchestra"  is 
enumerated: 

3.  Praise  Him  with  the  sound  of  the  trumpet:  praise  Him  with  the 
psaltery  and  harp. 

4.  Praise  Him  with  the  timbrel  and  dance:  praise  Him  with  stringed 
instruments  and  organs. 


THE  ISRAELITES  AND  ISLAMITES         19 

5.  Praise  Him  upon  the  loud  cymbals:    praise  Him  upon  the  high- 
sounding  cymbals. 

6.  Let  everything  that  hath  breath  praise  the  Lord.     Praise  ye  the 
Lord. 

The    most   Important  instrument  was  the  shophar  or 
ram's  horn:    "The  shophar  is  especially  remarkable  as 


THE  SHOPHAR,  OR  RAM'S  HORN 


being  the  only  Hebrew  instrument  which  has  been  pre- 
served to  the  present  day  in  the  religious  services  of  the 
Jews.  It  is  still  blown,  as  in  time  of  old,  at  the  Jewish  New 
Year's  festival,  according  to  the  command  of  Moses."  * 


HEBREW  COINS   SHOWING  THE   LYRE 

In  Arabia  and  Persia  music  was,  and  is,  employed 
in  a  totally  different  manner  from  that  prevalent  among 
the  ancient  Hebrews.     The  love  of  the  Islamites  for  mu- 


Carl  Engcl,  The  Music  of  the  Most  Ancient  Nations. 


20 


ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


sic,  and  their  natural  gifts,  are  very  remarkable  and, 
presumably,  always  have  been.  But  the  history  of  their 
music  is  of  comparatively  recent  date  and  presents,  for 
that  reason,  pronounced  artistic 
traits  suggestive  of  a  more  modern 
culture  that  can  only  have  been 
modelled  after  and  influenced  by 
the  refined  European  condition  of 
the  musical  art. 

The  musical  theory  of  the  Islam- 
ites is  one  of  astonishing  logical 
exactness,  elaborateness,  and  thor- 
oughness. It  seems  to  lack  nothing 
but  that  correct  natural  premise 
which,  secured  and  adopted  by  the 
thoughtful  musical  scholars  of  the 
Christian  church  in  the  Middle 
Ages,  was  destined  to  develop  with 
scientific  certainty  into  the  per- 
fected art  of  our  day.  But  the 
basis  of  Islamitic  musical  theory 
was  too  vague  and  imaginative  for 
snch  evolution.  Though  closely  allied  to  nature  in  a 
poetic  sense,  it  was  not  so  in  the  practical  application 
which  they  made  of  it. 

The  musical  practice  of  the  Islamites  was  not  asso- 
ciated with  religion,  as  among  the  Jews,  but  was  ex- 
plicitly prohibited  by  Mohammed  as  a  dangerous  enemy 
and  rival  of  holiness.  In  consequence,  the  tones  of  the 
voice  and  of  the  lute,  which  survived  or  defied  this  pro- 
hibition, found  refuge  and  welcome  with  the  nomadic 
Bedouins  in  the  lonely  retreats  of  the  desert  and  there 
throve  under  the  strong  natural  impulses  of  these  wild 
singers  and  players. 

The  basis  of  their  theory  was  a  scale  of  seven  tones, 
corresponding  to  the  modern  major  scale  in  all  but  the 
last  (highest)  interval,  which  was  a  whole  step  instead  of 


AN  ORIENTAL  LUTE 


THE  ISRAELITES  AND   ISLAMITES         21 

a  half  step,  like,  for  example,  the  D  major  scale  with  C 
natural  instead  of  C  sharp.  This  tone  range  was  divided 
into  seventeen  parts,  each  whole  step  representing  three 
while  the  two  half  steps  remained  undivided.  Scientific 
musicians  are  compelled  to  admit  that  this  produces  a 
scale  form  of  greater  richness  and,  in  some  respects,  of 
greater  acoustic  accuracy  than  even  our  modern  modes. 
But  the  Arabs  contented  themselves  with  the  mere  math- 
ematical speculation  possible  within  the  tone  group  and 
have  made  no  truly  artistic  use  of  it. 

The  tone-thirds  create  the  impression  of  dragging  the 
voice,  possibly  a  trifle  less  vaguely  than  the  struti  of  the 
Hindus.  This  marked  peculiarity  of  Oriental  singing  and 
playing  is  also  found  in  southern  Europe,  modern  Greece, 
Naples,  and  Andalusia.  Arab  rhythms  are  for  the  most 
part  vague  and  monotonous,  but  in  many  instances  sin- 
gularly free,  energetic,  and  effective. 

Arabian  melodies,  however,  possess  very  positive  charm; 
those  in  use  at  the  present  time,  of  which  some  may  be 
fairly  old,  are  quaint,  romantic,  tuneful,  symmetrical  in 
structure,  rhythmically  natural  and  interesting,  and  to 
some  extent  positively  beautiful. 


I^L  ,2\i:M  iliimCTft'^^^^B^^^^ 


ivv;^lin.'^|flvliiijiH.^i^^^l^if 


The  tunes  of  the  Turks  are  far  less  perfect  and  refined; 
they  are  sensual,  revel  in  indistinct,  blurred  tones  and 
vague  phrases,  are  often  singularly  wild  and  indefinable, 
and  adorned,  even  overloaded,  with  a  profusion  of  fan- 
tastic coloratures  and  ostensible  embellishments. 

The  most  significant  point  of  contact,  however,  between 
the  music  of  these  races  and  the  art  of  to-day  rests  in 


22 


ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


the  instruments  which  they  used  and,  probably,  to  a  large 
extent  invented.  In  this  connection,  their  relation  to  the 
modern  orchestra  and  their  influence  upon  it  is  extremely 
important.  Our  lutes,  mandolins,  and  guitars;  our 
oboes,  kettle-drums  and  snare-drums,  are  all  of  direct 
Arabian  origin;  and,  although  the  violin  traces  its  devel- 
opment partly  from  northern  Europe  and  Hin- 
dustan, it  is,  nevertheless,  true  that  the  adop- 
tion of  the  Arabian  rebec  by  the  troubadours 
contributed  most  largely  to  the  cultivation  and 
spread  of  this  important  instrument.  The 
Arabian  rebec,  called  originally  rebab  or  rabab, 
is  a  kind  of  viola  which  found  its  way  into 
Europe  as  early  as  the  eighth  or  ninth  century. 
The  Crusaders  brought  it  from  the  Orient  in 
the  twelfth  century.  That  this  instrument 
persisted  in  Europe  is  shown  by  the  accom- 
panying illustration  of  a  French  rebec  of  the 
sixteenth  century. 

The  chief  instrument   of  the  Arabs  is  the 
lute,  called  by  them  el'eud  or  el'aoud  (meaning 
"wood  of  the  aloe"),  whence  the  Spanish  de- 
rivative laudo.     The  important  family  of  wood 
instruments,  popular  in  European  bands  in  the      ^ceJtur™ 
sixteenth  century  under  the  name  pommer  or 
bombard,  is  practically  identical  with  the  Arabian  zamar. 
Our  present  oboe  is  the  equivalent  of  the  discant  (small- 
est) pommer;   the  bassoon  is  the  bass  pommer. 

No  other  Oriental  race  has  evinced  so  marked  a  pre- 
dilection for  instrumental  music  as  the  Arabs.  Their 
wealth  of  instruments  is  well-nigh  fabulous,  numbering 
no  fewer  than  one  hundred  and  thirty  varieties,  not  in- 
cluding a  large  number  of  brass  and  percussion  instru- 
ments and  thirty  others  mentioned  in  their  writings  but 
unknown  to  us. 


CHAPTER  IV 
MUSIC  OF  THE  GREEKS  AND  ROMANS 

For  many  and  obvious  reasons,  the  music  of  the 
ancient  Greeks  has  always  been  regarded  by  historians 
with  far  greater  interest  than  that  accorded  to  any  other 
contemporaneous  nation.  The  undisputed  supremacy  of 
their  culture  in  literature,  sculpture,  architecture,  and 
the  sciences  made  the  scholars  of  subsequent  ages  eager 
to  draw  upon  the  stores  of  Greek  learning.  Their  pro- 
found musical  theories  have  repeatedly  been  reverted  to 
by  the  pioneers  of  musical  art  and  science  during  the 
Christian  era,  even  as  late  as  the  fifteenth  century,  as 
presumably  the  most  trustworthy  basis  and  guide  to  fur- 
ther development.  And  while  this  has  proved,  on  the 
whole,  to  be  a  fallacy  (because  Greek- theories  of  music 
were,  after  all,  but  little  if  any  more  correct  than  those 
of  other  ancient  races),  it  is,  nevertheless,  true  that  many 
of  their  basic  principles  did  survive  to  influence  the  sub- 
sequent organisation  of  the  true  art-material,  probably 
because  of  the  inevitable  coincidence  of  natural  instinct, 
to  some  fundamental  extent  in  all  ages.  Thus  we  dis- 
cover a  close  relation  between  our  modern  scale  and  the 
tetrachord  system  of  the  Greeks;  and  many  musical 
terms  have  descended  to  us  from  Greek  theory,  either 
directly  or  by  way  of  their  Latin  equivalents. 

In  Greece  we  find,  for  the  first  time  in  history,  music 
treated  as  an  object  of  beauty  and  of  artistic  potential- 
ity in  itself.  With  this  people  It  was  used  not  merely 
to  regulate  the  dance,  to  enliven  the  festival,  or  to  sol- 
emnise the  sacrifice;    nor  was  it  regarded  alone  as  a  me- 

23 


24  ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

dium  of  personal  expression,  but  as  a  thing  of  abstract 
beauty  in  itself,  a  fruitful  subject  for  philosophical  and 
mathematical  speculation.  From  the  Greeks  we  have 
the  name:    Mus-ik,  the  art  of  the  muses.* 

But  the  Hellenic  mind  ran  to  plastic  forms,  and  there- 
fore, with  all  their  marvellous  artistic  endowment,  the 


MUSIC  AT  THE  PANATHEN.EAN  FESTIVAL 

Greeks  were  not  able  to  comprehend  the  true  mission 
of  music,  the  wholly  unplastic  art,  nor  to  contribute  to 
its  development  in  the  proper  direction. 

Still,  the  reverence  and  love  for  music  displayed  by 
the  Greeks  were  great.  The  art  pervaded  their  lives, 
mj^thical  and  material.  Apollo  led  the  muses  with  his 
symboHc  lyre.  With  him  was  Dionysus,  the  god  of  loud, 
rushing  music;  then  came  demigods,  human  heroes,  and 
mighty  epic  poets:  Orpheus,  who  subdued  the  demons 
of  the  underworld;  Thamyris,  who  boldly  challenged  the 
muses  to  a  contest;  Linos,  Hymenaeus,  and  Homer.  And 
so  on,  to  the  humbler  shepherds,  reapers,  and  workers  of 
fields  and  vineyards,  who  lightened  their  labour  with 
strains  that  were  doubtless  a  truer  expression  of  human 

*  With  the  Greeks,  "music  was  never  dissociated  from  poetry,  and  hence,  in 
later  times,  mental  education  broke  up  into  two  parts:  music  proper  and  let- 
ters. These  might  be  regarded  either  as  arts  or  sciences.  As  arts,  they  were 
used  to  purify  the  soul;  as  sciences,  to  instruct  or  enlighten  it." — Thomas 
Davidson,  The  History  of  Education,  p.  94. 


THE  GREEKS  AND   ROMANS 


25 


feeling  than  anything  that  could  be  suggested  by  the  com- 
plex and  highly  developed  theories  of  greater  minds. 

The  first  important  musical  authority  in  Greek  history 
was  Terpander  (c.  680  B.  C.)>  to  whom  improvement 
of  the  lyre  and  the  duplication  of  the  tetrachord  are 
ascribed.  Pythagoras  (c.  540  B.  C.)  was  probably  the 
first  to  apply  mathematics  to  music  and  to  establish  the 
basis  of  the  first  musical  system.  For  this  reason  Py- 
thagoras and  his  followers  were  known  as  canonists,  as 
they  thus  determined  all  music  practice  and  theory  by 
*'rule."  Pythagoras  was  followed,  about  two  centuries 
later,  by  Aristoxenos  {b.  354  B.  C),  a  man  of  more  im- 
aginative and  progressive  disposition,  who  advanced  the 
natural  but  reasonable 
suggestion  that  the  ear 
(the  personal  judge)  and 
not  the  rule,  or  intellec- 
tual critic,  should  be 
the  sole  guide.  He  and 
his  school  were,  there- 
fore, known  as  harmo- 
nists. 

The  hypothesis  of  Py- 
thagoras was:  "All  is 
number  and  concord. 
Numbers  direct  and 
maintain  the  harmony 
of  the  universe.  Num- 
bers form  also  the  foun- 
dation of  musical  effects. 
What  we  hear  In  the 
vibration  of  a  string  in 

motion  is  a  number;  In  music,  numbers  become  resonant; 
numbers  determine  the  pitch  of  tones  and  their  Interval 
relations  to  one  another." 

The  less  mathematical  and  more  philosophical  Aristox- 
enos says:   "The  soul  is  the  tension  of  the  body;  and, 


A   MUSIC  LESSON 


26  ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

as  with  stretched  strings  in  harmony  and  song,  so  vari- 
ous vibrations,  according  to  the  nature  and  shape  of  the 
body,  are  produced,  hke  unto  musical  tones." 

Plato  says  of  music:  "It,  hke  the  other  arts,  should 
serve  the  common  weal;  it  is  false  and  reprehensible  to 
declare  that  music  exists  for  pleasure  only.  .  .  .  Music 
should  inspire  with  love  for  what  is  good  and  pure.  .  .  . 
Bad  music  is  more  pernicious  than  any  other  evil." 

These  utterances  seem  to  indicate  deep  insight  into  the 
actual  purposes  and  effects  of  music.  But  we  must  not 
forget  that  they  may  have  had  far  greater  poetical  than 
practical  significance,  because  that  which  they  called 
music  was  a  theory,  of  vaguely  apprehended  possibilitieSy 
but  not  a  practical  fact — not  in  any  sense  that  which 
modern  music  is,  a  vehicle  of  emotional  expression. 

The  thorough  and  mathematically  exact  theory  of 
Greek  music  was  based  wholly  upon  the  tetrachord — a 
four-tone  succession,  in  progressive  pitches,  always  con- 
taining two  whole-step,  and  one  half-step,  intervals.  Of 
these  tetrachords  they  distinguished  three  species,  ac- 
cording to  the  location  of  the  half  step,  at  the  bottom 
(Dorian),  in  the  middle  (Phrygian),  or  at  the  top  (Lyd- 
ian)  of  the  row  of  tones.     Thus: 

Dorian  Phrygian  Lydiak 


These  tetrachords  were  later  duplicated,  or,  rather, 
interjoined,  so  that  the  seven-tone  scale  resulted.  In  the 
case  of  the  Lydian  mode,  this  corresponded  exactly  to 
the  modern  major  scale  excepting  that  it  began  with  the 
fifth  tone  (dominant)  instead  of  with  the  key-note.   Thus: 

Lower  tetrachord 


=^E=^^ 


"25  —^^^ .    Upper  tetrachord     I 


THE  GREEKS  AND   ROMANS 


27 


The  complete  Greek  scale  ultimately  consisted  of  four 
Dorian  tetrachords  extending  from  B  in  the  bass  to  A 
above  middle  C,  To  this  was  added  one  tone  (A)  at 
the  lower  end,  which  was  called  the  added  tone.  Each 
tetrachord  had  its  specific  name;    so,  too,  had  each  sep- 


rb 

TOTE 


mm 


GREEK  MUSICAL  NOTATION 

arate  tone,  indicative  partly  of  its  position  in  its  tetra- 
chord and  partly  of  its  position  on  the  lyre.  Out  of  this 
extended  scale  group  seven  modes  or  octave  systems  were 
derived,  varying  simply  in  accordance  with  the  starting- 
point  chosen. 

The  Greeks  distinguished  diflPerent  voice  registers 
(topoi);  a  tonos,  something  apparently  similar  to  our 
key,  and  determining  transpositions  from  one  mode  to 
another;  a  diatonic,  chromatic,  and  enharmonic  genus. 
They  made  many  other  distinctions  which,  though  often 
singularly  vague  and  to  all  appearances  purely  theoreti- 


28 


ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


cal,  prove  the  earnestness  with  which  they  carried  out 
their  mathematical  speculations.  The  Greek  rhythmic 
systems  were  highly  developed,  chiefly,  to  be  sure,  in  re- 
lation to  Greek  poetry,  the  prosodic  measures  of  which 
were  the  universal  basis  of  all  subsequent  forms. 

Greek  melodies  were  possibly  somewhat  more  natural 
than  those  of  other  ancient  races,  but  more  than  likely 
crude,  lifeless,  and  wholly  incapable  of  development.     Of 


GREEK  CITHARA 


GREEK   LYRE 


harmony,  in  the  modern  sense,  they  possessed  not  the 
remotest  knowledge.  Greek  notation  consisted  entirely 
of  letters. 

The  manner  of  singing  was  almost  certainly  a  com- 
promise between  speech  and  song,  a  sort  of  recitative. 
The  poet  may  have  struck  a  few  introductory  notes  upon 
his  lyre  or  cithara  before  beginning  his  declamation.  He 
may  have  accentuated  certain  syllables,  may  possibly  have 
ventured  an  occasional  embellishment,  and,  no  doubt, 
carried  the  voice  up  or  down  in  keeping  with  the  dram- 
atic inflections  of  the  epic,  along  the  line  of  the  adopted 
tetrachord  or  modus. 

The  chorus,  which  plays  so  important  a  part  in  Greek 
tragedy,  consisted  of  male  singers.  They  were  directed 
by  a  leader,  called  koryphaeus,  who  used,  instead  of  a 
conductor's  baton,  clattering  shoes  and  marked  the  time 
by  walking  about. 


THE  GREEKS  AND   ROMANS 


29 


Compared  with  the  great  number  of  instruments  used 
by  the  Egyptians  and  Hebrews,  those  of  Greece  appear 
almost  insignificant.  Their  whole  store  is  summed  up  in 
two  Instruments:  the  lyre  (and  related  cithara)  and  the 
flute  (single  and  double). 

Many  passages  in  the  works  of  Greek  writers  attest 
the  manner  and  method  by  which  music  was  performed. 
Thus  we  read  {Odyssey^  book  I) : 


GREEK   LYRE 


GREEK  CITHARA 


Now  when  the  wooers  had  put  from  them  the  desire  of  meat  and 
drink,  they  minded  them  of  other  things,  even  of  the  song  and  dance: 
for  these  are  the  crown  of  the  feast. 

And  a  henchman  placed  a  beauteous  lyre  in  the  hands  of  him  who 
was  minstrel  to  the  wooers  despite  his  will.  Yea,  and  as  he  touched 
the  lyre  he  lifted  up  his  voice  in  sweet  song. 

Again  {Odyssey,  book  IV) : 

And  among  them  a  divine  minstrel  was  singing  to  a  lyre,  and  as  he 
began  the  song  two  tumblers  in  the  company  whirled  through  their 
midst. 

Throughout  the  Anabasis  martial  music  and  music  of 
the  dance  are  frequently  mentioned. 

And  when  the  trumpeters  gave  the  signal,  they  presented  arms  and 
advanced.     (Book  I,  chap.  II.) 

As  the  sacrifices  appeared  favourable,  all  the  soldiers  sang  the  pasan 
and  raised  a  shout.     (Book  IV,  chap.  III.) 


30  ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

In  the  sixth  book  of  the  Anabasis  the  following  descrip- 
tion of  a  dance  with  music  is  given: 

As  soon  as  the  libations  were  over,  and  they  had  sung  the  paean,  two 
Thracians  rose  up,  and  danced  in  full  armour,  to  the  sound  of  a  pipe; 
they  leaped  very  high,  and  with  great  agility,  and  wielded  their  swords; 
and  at  last  one  struck  the  other,  in  such  a  manner  that  every  one 
thought  he  had  killed  him  (he  fell,  however,  artfully),  and  the  Paph- 
lagonians  cried  out;  the  other,  having  despoiled  him  of  his  arms,  went 
out  singing  the  Sitalces;  while  other  Thracians  carried  off  the  man  as 
if  he  had  been  dead;  though  indeed  he  had  suffered  no  hurt.  After- 
ward some  iEnians  and  Magnesians  stood  up,  and  danced  what  they 
call  the  Carpaean  dance,  in  heavy  arms.  The  nature  of  the  dance  was 
as  follows:  one  man  having  laid  aside  his  arms,  sows,  and  drives  a 
yoke  of  oxen,  frequently  turning  to  look  back  as  if  he  were  afraid.  A 
robber  then  approaches,  and  the  other  man,  when  he  perceives  him, 
snatches  up  his  arms  and  runs  to  meet  him,  and  fights  with  him  in  de- 
fence of  his  yoke  of  oxen  (and  the  men  acted  all  this  keeping  time  to 
the  pipe);  but  at  last  the  robber,  binding  the  other  man,  leads  him 
off  with  his  oxen.  Sometimes,  however,  the  ploughman  binds  the  rob- 
ber, and  then,  having  fastened  him  to  his  oxen,  drives  him  off  with  his 
hands  tied  behind  him. 

Next  came  forward  a  Mysian,  with  a  light  shield  in  each  hand,  and 
danced,  sometimes  acting  as  if  two  adversaries  were  attacking  him; 
sometimes  he  used  his  shields  as  if  engaged  with  only  one;  sometimes 
he  whirled  about,  and  threw  a  somersault,  still  keeping  the  shields  in 
his  hands,  presenting  an  interesting  spectacle.  At  last  he  danced  the 
Persian  dance,  clashing  his  shields  together,  sinking  on  his  knees,  and 
rising  again;   and  all  this  he  performed  in  time  to  the  pipe. 

After  him  some  Mantineans,  and  others  of  the  Arcadians,  coming 
forward  and  taking  their  stand,  armed  as  handsomely  as  they  could 
equip  themselves,  moved  along  in  time,  accompanied  by  a  pipe  tuned 
for  the  war-movement,  and  sang  the  paean,  and  danced  in  the  same 
manner  as  in  the  processions  to  the  gods.  The  Paphlagonians,  looking 
on,  testified  their  astonishment  that  all  the  dances  were  performed  in 
armour.  The  Mysian,  observing  that  they  were  surprised  at  the  ex- 
hibition, and  prevailing  on  one  of  the  Arcadians,  who  had  a  female 
dancer,  to  let  her  come  in,  brought  her  forward,  equipping  her  as 
handsomely  as  he  could,  and  giving  her  a  light  buckler.  She  danced 
the  Pyrrhic  dance  with  great  agility  and  a  general  clapping  followed. 
.  .  .  This  was  the  conclusion  of  the  entertainment  for  that  night. 

When  Xenophon  had  assured  Seuthes  of  the  friendship 
of  himself  and  of  his  associates,  "some  people  came  in 


THE  GREEKS  AND   ROMANS 


31 


that  played  on  horns,  such  as  they  make  signals  with, 
and  trumpets  made  of  raw  ox-hides,  blowing  regular 
tunes,  and  as  if  they  were  playing  on  the  magadis."  * 


P- 


TRUMPET 

ROMAN   INSTRUMENTS 


TUBA    CORNEA 


In  Rome  the  purpose  of  music  differed  vastly  from  that 
pursued  by  the  Greeks,  and  its  character  was  defined 
accordingly.  The  Romans  recognised  in  music  neither  a 
medium  of  emotional  utterance  nor  an  object  of  serious 
investigation,  but  chiefly  an  auxiliary  of  the  dance  and 


ROMAN  DRUMS 


SIGNAL  HORN 


of  their  extravagant  theatrical  performances.  It  served 
no  higher  purposes  and  was  limited  to  the  voluptuous 
practices  of  a  degenerate  people. 

*  Magadis,  a  pipe  that  gave  forth  a  shrill,  powerful  tone. 


32 


ESSENTIALS  IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


Their  principal  instrument  was  the  flute,  though  they 
also  possessed  the  lyre  and  cithara  of  the  Greeks 
and  used  the  straight  metal  tuba  and  the  rounded  buc- 
cina  mainly  in  their  wars  or  at  imposing  public  festivals. 

Ovid,  speaking  from  personal  observation,  calls  song, 
cithara,  and  lyre  enervating.  Quintilian  indignantly  con- 
demns the  licentious  music  of  his  day.     St.  Jerome  de- 


ROMAN   FLUTES 


clares:  "A  Christian  maiden  should  not  know  what  a 
flute  or  a  lyre  is,  or  for  what  they  are  used."  But 
Epictetus,  the  philosopher,  observed  a  fact  about  music 
that  will  probably  remain  true  for  all  time: 

"And  the  learning  of  a  carpenter's  trade  is  very  griev- 
ous to  an  untaught  person  who  happens  to  be  present, 
but  the  work  done  declares  the  need  of  the  art.  But 
far  more  is  this  seen  in  music,  for  if  you  are  by  where 
one  is  learning  it  will  appear  the  most  painful  of  all  in- 
structions; but  that  which  is  produced  by  the  musical 
art  is  sweet  and  delightful  to  hear,  even  to  those  who 
are  untaught  in  it."  * 

*  The  Encheiridion  of  Epictetus,  book  I,  chap.  VI. 


CHAPTER  V 
MUSIC  OF  THE  EARLY  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH 

The  momentous  religious  awakening  which  ushered  in 
the  era  of  Christianity  provided  wholly  new  conditions, 
signally  auspicious  for  the  development  of  music.  With 
the  advent  of  spiritual  ideals  and  impulses,  the  true  power 
and  mission  of  music  became  recognisable,  and  before 
long  there  evolved  for  the  first  time  in  human  history 
the  possibility  of  directing  this  power  into  its  most  sig- 
nificant channels.  The  regenerated  soul,  longing  for  a 
medium  of  expression  for  its  new  hopes  and  feelings, 
found  no  other  form  of  utterance  so  peculiarly  qualified 
as  music  for  this  spiritual  experience. 

The  early  Christian  congregations  were,  therefore,  im- 
pelled to  sing,  as  well  as  to  pray;  and  what  they  sang 
could  scarcely  have  been  altogether  new,  but  was  prob- 
ably appropriated  from  the  existing  traditions  of  the 
Jewish  church.  The  first  Christian  melodies  were  pos- 
sibly such  remnants  of  actual  Hebrew  chants  as  might 
have  been  preserved;  or  they  were  derived  from  other 
familiar  sources  unknown  to  the  historian.  The  hymn 
sung  by  the  Saviour  and  his  disciples  at  the  Last  Supper, 
as  recorded  in  the  scriptures,  must  surely  have  been  an 
old  Hebrew  melody.  There  is  also  evidence  that  Greece 
furnished  melodic  material  for  the  early  Christian  church, 
especially  for  the  Greek  branch. 

It  is  more  than  likely  that  the  method  of  singing  was 
antiphonal  (responsive).  Philo,  a  Jewish  chronicler  of 
the  first  century,  is  authority  for  the  statement  that  the 
psalms  and  hymns  were  sung  by  alternate  male  and  fe- 

33 


34 


ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


male  choirs  (among  the  Therapeutae,  an  IsraeHtic  sect  in 
Alexandria).  At  all  events,  some  such  mode  of  alternat- 
ing song  must  have  been  the  original  type  of  the  antiph- 
onal  chant  which  subsequently  became  so  general  in  the 
Christian  church.  Both  sexes  joined  in  singing;  but 
instruments  of  every  kind  were  prohibited  for  a  long 
time. 

St.  Ambrose  (333-397  A.  D.)  is  regarded  as  the 
founder  of  the  music  of  the  Catholic  Church.  The  first 
attempts  to  organise  and  establish  a  system  of  musical 
service  are  identified  with  his  name.  St.  Ambrose  was 
a  great  lover  of  music  and  a  hj^mn  writer  of  such  eminence 
that  the  term  Ambrosian  was  applied  to  all  hymns  writ- 
ten in  his  characteristic  prosodic  measure,  and  even  be- 
came a  general  synonym  for  all  ecclesiastic  hymns  of  that 
epoch. 

0  LUX  BE  ATA  (Hymn  by  St.  Ambrose). 


;eiSE^ 


:t=t: 


1^=0 


0         lux     be   -    a     -     ta        Trl  -  ni   -   tas        Et       prin 


i=.: 


m 


-r—t- 


^jrrn^ 


:[i^=t= 


t: 


-pt (Z. 


ci  -  pa  -  lis      u    -    ni  -  tas!   Jam  sol       re  -  ce  -  dit     ig  -  ne  -  us 


In  -  funde 


di    -    bus. 


THE  EARLY  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH 


35 


The  Ambrosian  chant  or  intonation  was,  no  doubt, 
recitative  in  style;  the  rhythm  was  marked  as  in  speak- 
ing, while  the  voice  re- 
mained mostly  upon  one 
tone,  excepting  at  the 
cadences  (the  end  of 
the  lines  or  verses), 
where  either  a  rising  or 
falling  inflection  was 
made.  (Hence,  cadence 
from  cado,  cadere,  to 
fall.)  There  was  yet  no 
system  of  musical  no- 
tation; the  tones  were 
indicated  by  letters  only, 
as  among  the  earlier 
Greeks. 

St.  Ambrose  classified 
his  intonations  accord- 
ing to  the  following  four 
modes,    borrowed,    pre- 

sumabl}^,   from  the  Greek  theory;    these  are  known   as 
the  Ambrosian  ecclesiastic  tones  or  authentic  modes: 


From  "I'Histoire  du  Bas-Empire,"  tome  II. 
ST.  AMBROSE 


TETRACHORD                   TETRACHORD 

I. 

d-e^-g'  a-b^-d 

2. 

€-¥-G-k    B^-D-E 

3- 

F-G-A-B>     C-D-E-F 

4. 

G  -  A  -  B-C     D  -  E-F  - 

1 
-G 

In  the  third  of  these  modes  the  usual  tone  B  gave  a 
succession  of  three  whole  steps  (the  tritone),  which  was 
not  permitted  in  a  system  based  upon  the  tetrachord,  in 
which,  as  in  Greek  theory,  one  of  the  intervals  should  be 


36  ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

a  half  step.  To  remove  this  error  the  pitch  of  the  tone 
B  was  lowered  a  half  step  when  this  tetrachord  was  used, 
and  this  change  was  indicated  by  altering  the  form  of  the 
letter  from  the  usual  square  B  (p)  to  a  round  B  (b). 
The  square  ^  denoted  the  "hard"  melodic  interval  (the 
tone  used  in  all  other  modes);  the  round  b,  the  "softer" 
interval,  now  known  as  b-flat.  These  forms  of  the  letter 
B  are  the  forerunners  of  our  modern  tf  and  b.* 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  at  this  time  music  was 
limited  to  melody  alone.  Harmony,  or  anything  ap- 
proaching the  idea  of  independent  parts,  was  still  wholly 
unknown. 

In  course  of  time  a  more  perfect  system  became  desir- 
able, and  the  efforts  to  bring  this  about  seem  to  have 
centred  next  in  Gregory,  surnamed  the  Great  (born 
about  540  A.  D.;  pope  from  590  to  604),  who  is  credited 
with  having  reformed  and  reorganised  the  liturgical  and 
musical  service  of  the  Catholic  Church.  The  music  he 
established  was  called  the  Gregorian  chant.  All  of  the 
intonations  belonging  to  his  liturgy  were  noted  (in  letters 
only)  in  a  book  called  the  Antiphonaryy  which,  bound 
by  a  chain  to  the  altar  of  St.  Peter's  church  in  Rome, 
was  to  remain  an  inviolable  guide  for  the  music  of  the 
Roman  Church  for  all  time.  For  this  reason  every 
chant  it  contained  was  known  as  a  cantus  firmus  (fixed 
chant).  The  name  cantus  planus  (plain  chant)  was 
given  to  some  of  them,  that  were  sung  in  tones  of  uni- 
form length. 

The  distinction  between  the  Ambrosian  and  Gregorian 
manner  of  singing  appears  to  have  rested  largely  upon 
the  rhythm,  which,  in  the  former,  was  apparently  far  more 
natural  and  animated,  conforming  to  an  unconstrained 
declamation  of  the  text.  The  Gregorian  chant,  on  the 
contrary,  held  less  strictly  to  the  natural  rhythm  of  the 

*  Progressive  forms  of  the  flat  in  musical  notation: 


THE   EARLY  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH         37 

KSTlL  A  J  SCM  JiTRlil- 
U£K  WATif  fST  NOBIS 

/•.fr        A.^**      ^^    n     ^4 


y>    i  f      ^-^  ^-^         />"      n       . 


jt: 


II  7  J*-     '" 


"  -^     ■-^.  <   .y'-: 


4 


From  the  "  Antlphonarium  of  St.  Gregory"  (Monastery  of  St.  Gall,  A.  D.  790). 


38  ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

words;  the  spondee  metre  (all  long  syllables)  was  held 
to  be  most  consistent  with  the  solemnity  of  sacred  song 
and  better  adapted  for  the  participation  of  a  large  uni- 
son choir.  Further,  the  Gregorian  chant  was  no  longer 
strictly  syllabic  (a  tone  for  each  syllable);  not  only  were 
two  or  more  tones  often  sung  to  one  syllable,  but  at  times 
a  whole  melodic  group  accompanied  a  single  vowel. 

Gregory  increased  the  number  of  modes  to  eight  by 
adding  four  subordinate  ones,  known  as  plagal,  to  the 
four  authentic  modes  of  Ambrose.  The  plagal  modes 
differed  from  the  authentic  only  in  that  they  proceeded 
from  dominant  to  dominant  (fifth  step)  instead  of  from 
key-note  to  key-note.*     Thus: 

Tone  I,  authentic:  D-e-f-g-A-b-c-D. 

Tone  I,  plagal:  A-b-c-D-e-f-g-A. 

Besides  notation  in  letters  there  was  another  system 
of  which  Gregory,  and  perhaps  earlier  writers,  are  known 
to  have  made  some  use.  This  was  the  so-called  neuma 
script  (from  pneuma,  breath)  and  was  said  to  have  been 
invented  by  a  monk,  St.  Ephraem,  as  early  as  the  fourth 
century,  in   which    case   it   would    probably   have    been 

; 

m 


NEUMA  NOTATION  OF  THE  TENTH  CENTURY 

known  to  Ambrose  also.  It  was,  at  all  events,  the  first 
device  for  indicating  musical  sounds  ever  invented  that 
proved  to  be  capable  and  worthy  of  development,  and  it 
was  the  fundament  of  the  subsequent  mensural  system, 
the  direct  forerunner  of  our  modern  musical  notation. 

This  neuma  script    (also  known   as  the  nota  romana) 
consisted  of  fourteen  small  characters: 

*  See  Karl  Eduard  Schelle's  Die  pdpstliche  Sdngerschulc  in  Rom  (1872). 


THE  EARLY  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH         39 

which  were  gradually  combined  and  multiplied  to  about 
forty.* 

The  neumas  did  not  indicate  any  particular  tone  or 
time-value,  but  merely  the  rising,  falling,  sustaining,  or 
inflecting  of  the  voice  in  a  general  way.  They  were, 
consequently,  mnemonic  rather  than  strictly  notational. 

Finally — possibly  as  early  as  the  seventh  century — 
some  conscientious  copyist  hit  upon  the  simple  expedient 
of  drawing  a  line  to  guide  him  in  placing  his  neumas 
accurately  and  neatly  above  the  text.  This  probably 
purely  accidental  device  was  soon  turned  to  account  as 
a  means  of  fixing  the  pitch  of  the  tones  themselves. 

The  first  line  was  fixed  for  the  middle  F  of  the  bass 
and  was  identified  by  the  corresponding  letter  (F  or  ^), 
from  which,  in  a  roundabout  way,  the  present  sign  of  the 
F  clef  (•^i  or  ^:)  has  been  derived. f  Shortly  afterward 
— about  the  ninth  century — a  second  line  was  added, 
representing  the  fifth  tone  above  F  (that  is,  C),  also 
marked  with  its  letter  (!•.  >  the  original  of  the  modern 

C  clefs). J  The  F  line  was  red,  the  C  line  either  yellow 
or  green. 

Later,  a  black  line,  for  the  tone  A,  was  placed  between 
these,  at  first  dotted  but  later  continuous.  Thus  the 
musical  staff  was  gradually  formed;  and  it  grew  until  a 
few  centuries  later  it  became  the  so-called  great  staff  of 

*  See  Plain  Song,  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Helmore. 

'T  py  <^/P  ):  ):];  yy  »  rf- iC  l!  <  •: 

^.ee-c   c  C,    e   C    C    C   p  |:|!p    li    M     tj 


40  ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

eleven  lines — our  present  G  and  F  staves  with  the  C  line 
between. 

Singing-schools  for  the  study  of  the  Gregorian  intona- 
tions were  established  not  only  in  Rome  but  also  in 
Gaul,   Britain,   and  Germany.     But  these  were  not  the 

.  r  ^  .        ^F  ^     •^/^  ^  J  ^^  . 

HE \^  m  •^'    m-^ ^ 

l{_y  c^-vc-i^e  >He -ui   go    C^e-ct   aut 


"nT" 


NEUMA    SCRIPT,    ELEVENTH    CENTURY 

first;  the  significance  of  music  as  a  vital  factor  of  ecclesi- 
astic life  was  early  recognised  and  its  use  and  cultiva- 
tion received  serious  attention  almost  from  the  begin- 
ning. The  first  school  of  song  mentioned  is  that  of  Pope 
Sylvester,  established  in  Rome  some  time  between  314 
and  355.  Later  schools  are  ascribed  to  Pope  Hilarius 
(461-468)  and  others.  The  influence  of  the  Gregorian 
system  upon  the  artistic  development  of  ecclesiastic  mu- 
sic extended,  undiminished,  over  a  period  of  a  thousand 
years  (from  600  to  1600  A.  D.),  and  to  the  present  day 
it  constitutes  the  basis  of  all  Roman  CathoHc  musical 
ceremony  and  service. 

The  music  of  the  people  remained  entirel}^  independent, 
and  exerted  in  Gregory's  time — and  even  long  after — no 
vitalising  influence  upon  that  of  the  church.  All  serious 
and,  in  a  sense,  artistic  music  of  the  early  and  Middle 
Ages  found  its  home,  its  place  of  nourishment  and  grad- 


THE   EARLY  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH 


41 


ual  systematic  evolution,  within  the  church,  where  it  was 
revered  and  cherished  as  an  integral  part  of  all  holy  life. 

The  duration  of 
the  Gregorian  style 
of  ecclesiastic  song 
may  be  bounded 
by  the  years  590  A. 
D.,  when  Gregory 
acceded  to  the  pon- 
tificate, and  900  A. 
D.,  when  the  first 
experiments  in 
combined  melody 
were  ventured. 


PRIMITIVE  ORGAN 
(museum  at  arles) 

The  instruments  of  this  era 
were  a  primitive  church  organ 
and,  among  the  people,  the  harp, 
rota  or  crwth,  large  and  small 
hurdy-gurdy,  psaltery,  and  a  few 
others. 

This  period  is  almost  identical 
with  that  in  which  Anglo-Saxon 
poetr}^  flourished  (650-825  A.  D.) 
and  led  into  the  reign  of  King 
Alfred  (871-901).  The  great 
Anglo-Saxon  epic,  Beowulf,  and 
the  cycles  of  Caedmon  and  Cyne- 
wulf  belong  here.  About  600 
A.  D.  St.  Augustine  became  the 
teacher,  to  the  Anglo-Saxons,  of 
the  Christian  religion.  King  Alfred,  distinctly  an  edu- 
cator of  his  people,  prepared  many  books  for  their  use. 


CRWTH 
(ninth  century; 


42  ESSENTIALS  IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

The  early  poetry  of  the  land  that  afterward  was  known 
as  England  "was  made  current  and  kept  fresh  in  the 
memory  of  the  singers.  The  kings  and  nobles  often  at- 
tached to  them  a  scop,  or  maker  of  verses.  .  .  .  The 
banquet  was  not  complete  without  the  songs  of  the  scop. 
While  the  warriors  ate  the  flesh  of  boar  and  deer  and 
warmed  their  blood  with  horns  of  foaming  ale,  the  scop, 
standing  where  the  blaze  from  a  pile  of  logs  disclosed  to 
him  the  grizzly  features  of  the  men,  sang  his  most  stir- 
ring songs,  often  accompanying  them  with  the  music  of 
a  rude  harp."  * 

Comparatively  little  mention  is  made  in  Beowulf  of  the 
practice  of  music  in  the  stirring  scenes  that  centred  in 
Hrothgar's  great  hall. 

"...  light-hearted  laughter  loud  in  the  building 
Greeted  him  daily;   there  was  dulcet  harp-music, 
Clear  song  of  the  singer." 

In  Beowulf  s  Reminiscences: 

"...  the  riders  are  sleeping, 
The  knights  in  the  grave;  there's  no  sound  of  the  harp-word. "f 

*  History  of  English  Literature,  R.  P.  Halleck. 
t  Beowulf,  translated  by  John  Lesslie  Hall,  Ph.D. 


CHAPTER  VI 


FIRST  EXPERIMENTS  IN  THE  ASSOCIATION  OF 

PARTS 

The  time  was  come  when  those  who  revered  music  and 
beheved  in  its  wider  power  grew  impatient  of  the  nar- 
row and  monotonous  mode  of  unison  singing.     Faint  pre- 
sentiments of  harmonic  possibil- 
ities may  have  moved  them.     The 
growing  richness  and  might  of  the 
church,  its  extension  in  many  di- 
rections, may  have  created  a  de- 
sire for  ampler  expression.     Cer- 
tain it  is  that  in  the  first  decade 
of    the    tenth     century,     if    not 
earlier,    attempts   were    made  to 
combine — or,  rather,  to  multiply 
— the  vocal  parts. 

This  was  the  most  momentous 
step  in  all  the  range  of  music 
history,  for  it  pointed  out  the 
only  method  of  extending  and 
amplifying  the  resources  of  musi- 
cal   expression;    it   was    the  only 

progressive  movement  which  could  surmount  the  barrier 
and  continue  on  the  way  to  positive  development.  Music 
had  gone  as  far  as  it  was  possible  for  it  to  advance 
along  the  avenues  it  had  followed  hitherto;  it  had  reached 
the  final  stage  on  the  road  of  single  melody;  in  its  pro- 
gress it  had  arrived  at  the  point  which  permitted  no 
further  exploitation  unless  some  new  path  could  be  found. 
It  may  have  been,  and  more  than  likely  was,  an  accident 

43 


LYRE 

(ninth   CENTURYJ 


44  ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

which  led  into  the  open  road,  though,  no  doubt,  the 
guardians  of  the  music  of  the  church  were  constantly 
searching  and  watching  for  a  revelation  which  their  daily 
musical  experiences  inclined  them  to  forecast.  But  they 
could  not  know  or  foresee  to  what  end  this  possibly  ac- 
cidental association  of  parts  would  lead.  Nothing  else 
could  have  unlocked  the  vast  treasure-house  of  musical 
potentiality — could  have  started  the  process  of  evolution 
that  has  led  to  the  truly  marvellous  art  of  our  day. 

The  individual  associated  with  the  new  movement 
was  Hucbald,  or  Ubaldus,  a  learned  Benedictine  monk  in 
the  convent  of  St.  Amand,  in  the  French  Netherlands, 
who  lived  from  840  to  930.  Whether  or  not  Hucbald 
originated  these  novel  experiments  of  increasing  the  one- 
voice  (unison)  mode  of  singing  the  Gregorian  intonations 
to  a  more  ample  body  of  two  or  more  simultaneous  melo- 
dies, or  merely  assisted  in  systematising  them,  is  not 
known.  But  we  do  know  that  he  was  a  profound  Greek 
scholar,  familiar  with  Greek  musical  theory,  and  inclined 
to  adopt  certain  of  its  precepts.  This  is  attested  by  two 
kinds  of  notation  emplo3^ed  by  him,  and  by  his  applica- 
tion of  the  ancient  Greek  names  to  the  Gregorian  modes, 
though,  for  some  unexplained  reason,  in  reversed  order. 
Another  (third)  variety  of  notation  is  ascribed  to  Huc- 
bald, which,  though  not  destined  to  survive,  is  never- 
theless noteworthy.     It  consisted  in  placing  the  syllables 


T 

ta 

T 

li/   \                            lus\ 

T 

Ec\                      Israx  /           in  quo \       0/         no\ 

S 

ce\        re/           he                             do/                  on"^ 

X 

T 

ve/ 

est. 

T 

In  modern  notation: 


il5 


Vir 


9-f9- 


±=[1: 


:^t: 


-h-+- 


Ec  -  ce     ve  -  re    Is  -  ra  -  e  -  li  -  ta     in   quo    do  -  lus      non   est, 
A  SYSTEM  OF  NOTATION  EMPLOYED  BY  HUCBALD 


THE  ASSOCIATION  OF   PARTS 


45 


of  the  text  in  the  spaces  of  a  staff  of  several  Hnes,  whereon 
the  intervals  from  space  to  space  were  indicated  by  the 
letters  T  (tonus,  or  whole  step) 
and  S  (semitonium,  or  half  step). 
The  first  attempts  at  com- 
bining melodic  parts  were  known 
originally  by  the  name  of  or- 
ganum,  and  later  discantus  (di- 
versus  cantus).  These  were  of 
two  kinds;  the  first  consisted  in 
an  unaltered  succession  of  par- 
allel fifths  or  fourths  and  oc- 
taves. To  the  Gregorian  melody 
(the  cantus  firmus),  as  lower- 
most part,  a  higher  voice  was 
added,  singing  exactly  the  same 
melody  either  in  the  fourth  or 
fifth.  In  case  the  organum  (or 
discantus)  was  to  embrace  more  than  two  parts,  one  or 
both  of  these  voices  was  doubled  in  the  next  higher 
octave.     Thus  (in  modern  notation) : 


A  TENTH-CENTURY  HARP 


I       I 


"^'-g— ! 


a-G>- 


-f2— «)— e>-  and 


r-r- 


X-- 


\^B 


'-^^9—^ ^ 


— • — 0- 


ZZ^ 


-fS      C^      fg- 


la: 


r-r— r- 


The  importance  of  the  very  first  experiment  of  this 
kind  is  apt  to  be  exaggerated,  though  it  is  impossible  to 
overemphasise  the  significance  of  the  consequences  which 
followed.  As  already  intimated,  the  experiment  itself 
may  have  been  quite  accidental;  it  may  have  resulted 
from  a  misinterpretation  of  the  given  directions  on  the 
part  of  one  of  the  singers,  which  led  him  to  sing  his 
melody  in  a  different  interval  from  that  of  his  compan- 
ions. Some  historians  explain  this  with  convincing  plau- 
sibility as  the  natural  consequence  of  different  singers 
(men  and  boys),  with  lower  and  higher  voices,  being  com- 


46 


ESSENTIALS  IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


pelled  to  carry  their  intonations  at  different  pitches;  and 
the  selection  of  the  fifth,  fourth,  or  octave  would  appeal 
to  the  sense  of  closest  tone  relationship  as  we  understand 

it  to-day.  This  may  have 
happened  repeatedly  be- 
fore the  quaintness  of  the 
effect  was  realised  and  its 
possible  results  appreci- 
ated. 

To  the  modern  ear  this 
method  of  multiplying 
parts  (then  called  quint- 
ing  and  quarting)  is  re- 
pugnant. To  those  who 
first  heard  it,  it  was,  no 
doubt,  a  welcome  nov- 
elty. It  was  employed 
for  more  than  a  century 
without  objection,  from 
which  fact  an  impression 
of  the  imperfect  tone 
conception  and  sense  of 
harmonious  tone  associa- 
tion of  the  times  may  be 
inferred.  In  itself,  as  a 
specimen  of  combined  melodies,  the  organum  was  worth- 
less; but  it  soon  led  to  other  and  more  valuable  results,  as, 
for  instance,  the  so-called  secular  organum,  in  which  differ- 
ent intervals  were  used,  generally  in  consequence  of  hold- 
ing the  lower  part  stationary  (on  one  tone)  while  the 
other  intonated  the  cantus.     Thus: 


PSALTERY 
(ninth  century) 


m\ 


t==r 


t 


t 


"r 


i 


The   second    species,  called    diaphony,  was  of  greater 
artistic  promise.     This  consisted  in  a  succession  of  chang- 


THE  ASSOCIATION  OF   PARTS  47 

ing  intervals,  only  obtainable  by  the  impulse  of  giving 
to  each  separate  part  a  more  distinct  melodic  movement, 
and  of  introducing  other  and  more  euphonious  intervals; 
for  example,  the  third: 


:=|: 


Q  J 3 

It  did  not  take  long  to  develop  this  into  actual  poly- 
phony, the  artistic  multiplication  of  genuine  melodic 
parts. 

It  is  evident  from  this  that  all  the  music  of  the  early 
era  centred  in  melody.  There  was  still  no  conception  of 
that  harmonic  style  (based  upon  chords)  which  is  now 
considered  the  actual  fundament  of  all  musical  technic. 
The  experiments  of  Hucbald  tended  in  a  direct  line  to 
that  style  which,  two  centuries  later,  received  the  name 
of  counterpoint  (punctus  contra  punctum,  note  against 
note),  a  designation  which  it  has  retained  ever  since. 
But  a  harmonic  or  chord  system  did  not  take  shape  until 
the  eighteenth  century  (Rameau,  1722.  See  Chapter 
XXI). 

The  novel  practice  of  diaphony  was  indulged  in  by  all 
the  singers  of  the  time,  and  it  is  probable  that  it  gave 
rise  to  other  experiments  which  may  have  threatened  the 
purity  and  integrity  of  the  sacred  intonation.  It  was, 
no  doubt,  necessary  and  fortunate  for  the  church  that  a 
gifted  and  authoritative  musical  mind  should  appear  at 
this  juncture  to  control  and  conduct  the  new  technical 
achievement  into  safe  and  serious  channels. 

This  authority  was  Guido  of  Arezzo  {c.  995-1050),  a 
Benedictine  monk  of  the  convent  of  Pomposa.  Guido 
was  such  an  eminent  leader  in  musical  matters  that  many 
of  the  important  innovations  of  this  era  have  been  at- 
tributed to  him,  probably  without  foundation.  It  is  evi- 
dent, however,  that  he  was  instrumental  in  simplifying 


48 


ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


the  confused  theories  of  his  day;  in  perfecting  the  no- 
tation; in  regulating  the  technic  of  melody  combina- 
tions; and,  most  vital  of  all,  in  establishing  a  scale  53^5- 
tem  which  has  required  no  significant  modification  to  this 

day,  agreeing  as  it 
does  in  all  essential 
points  with  the  scien- 
tifically demonstrated 
major  scale  of  modern 
music.  Certain  it  is, 
also,  that  he  refined 
and  exalted  the  art  of 
ecclesiastic  music  to  a 
more  permanent  con- 
dition than  it  had  yet 
attained. 

Guido's  musical  in- 
stinct impelled  him  to 
abandon  the  insuffi- 
cient tetrachord  basis 
of  the  Greeks  and 
other  ancient  nations, 
and  to  adopt  a  sys- 
tem of  scale  formation 
founded  upon  the  hexachord,  or  six-tone  succession,  zvith 
a  half  step  in  the  middle  and  whole  steps  between  the  three 
upper  and  three  lower  tones.  The  hexachords,  three  in 
number,  began  upon  G,  C,  and  F.     Thus: 

G-A-B^-D-E 

C-D-E^F-G-A 

F-G-A^B>-C-D 

For  that  upon  F  the  round  (soft)  b  already  In  use  was 
necessary,  on  account  of  the  central  half  step. 

The  complete  scale  embraced  twenty  tones,  from  the 


GUIDO  OF  AREZZO  AND  BISHOP  THEODAL 
WITH  THE  MONOCHORD 


THE  ASSOCIATION  OF   PARTS 


49 


low  bass  G  to  the  high  E  of  the  boys'  voices,  tones  which 
correspond  to  the  white  keys  of  the  modern  piano  key- 
board; or  to  the  scale  of  C  major,  beginning  with  the 
fifth  step.  These  were  indicated  by  letters,  there  being 
as  yet  no  fixed  system  of  notation.     Thus: 

r,  A,  B,  C,  D,  E,  F,  G,  a,  b  or  1S|,  c,  d,  e,  f,  g,  aa,  bb, 
or  ^^y  cc,  dd,  ee. 

(The  lowest  letter  is  the  Greek  G,  gamma.) 

For  eadi  hexachord  (of  which  the  whole  scale  com- 
prised seven)  the  so-called  Guidonian  syllables  were 
adopted:  Uty  Re,  Mi,  Fa,  Sol,  La.  They  were  the  first 
syllables  of  a  six-line  hymn  to  St.  John.  Each  succes- 
sive line  of  this  music  began  upon  the  next  successive 
tone  of  the  hexachord.     Thus: 


-0-^2-0- 


-(g      gy      <s>  ■   o      a ..  .f:if 


-,&-<2- 


Ut     queant 

la 

-    xis   Re  -  so  -  na  -  re     fi  -  bris    Mi    -     -    ra 

— i=5 ^ '^?^ [-/T?    ^~'n 73 1 

ifij'       t^   <P               r^ 

^- 

-^ '^g'    ^     ^   V- g^s,— 6?     ^     ^  H 

-\l^      C?  '^    ^      «? 

"^     '^    1                                    '^1 

1                                       1 

ges  -  to-  rum  Fa  -  mu  -  li     tu    -    o  -  rum  Sol    -    -   ve   pel  -  lu  -  ti 


1 


La   -  bi 


turn     Sane   -  te     Jo  -  aa  -  nes. 


Hence  there  resulted  to  the  ear  this  succession: 


fm\' 

r^ 

1 & 1 

1 

-f?J. 

^ 

1 

>—^        <? 

1 

J 

Ut, 


Re, 


Mi, 


Fa, 


Sol, 


La. 


The  melodic  intervals  were  whole  steps,  excepting  at 
Mi-Fa,  which  was  invariably  a  half  step.  The  employ- 
ment of  these  syllables  in  the  singing  classes  was  called 
solmisation,  and  it  proved  to  be  so  convenient  a  method 
of  melodic  exercise  that  it  has  survived  to  this  day — a 


50         ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

singular  testimony  to  the  spirit  of  practicability  which 
seems  to  have  actuated  Guido  in  all  his  reforms. 

The  modification  of  the  tone  h  has  already  been  ex- 
plained. It  was  practised  in  the  early  days  of  Ambrose. 
The  round  b  indicated  the  lower  pitch,  which,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  F,  was  softer;  the  square  "Tjj  was  the  higher  pitch, 
necessary  in  the  two  other  tetrachords,  and  was  called 
hard.  The  round  b  was  the  type  of  the  subsequent  v  (flat), 
and  the  square  iJj  became  the  fa  (natural).  In  Germany,  b 
flat  is  still  called  b,  and  b  natural  takes  the  name  h,  because 
the  square  1J|  resembles  that  letter.  The  hexachords  were 
named  accordingly,  durum  (hard),  naturale,  and  molle 
(soft).     Thus: 

G-hexzchord  {durum)  C-hexa.chord (naturale)        F-hexzchord  {molle) 


-&—a 


W=^- 


ut     re    mi    fa    sol    la     ut   re   mi  fa  sol  la     ut   re  mi  fa  sol  la 
r     AJ3     C     DE      CDEFGa     FGabcd 

Later,  the  hexachords  were  multiplied  by  beginning 
with  other  letters,  whereupon  other  inflections  became 
necessary.  The  tl  (and  sometimes  ]?)  were  subsequently 
applied  to  the  alteration  of  any  letter,  or  cancelling  any 
change  from  its  natural  condition  in  the  original  scale. 
The  accidental  known  as  "sharp"  (jf)  became  first  nec- 
essary in  the  hexachord  on  D,  and  affected  the  letter  F. 
The  higher  inflection  of  this  letter  may  have  been  indi- 
cated by  simply  doubling  the  f,  thus:  ^— a  character  from 
which  the  ij:  would  naturally  emerge.  This  is,  however, 
conjecture,  and  several  other  explanations  are  given.* 

In  Italy  the  softer  syllable  Do  has  been  substituted 
for  Ut  (which  was  retained  in  France);  and  finally  a 
seventh  syllable  Si   (which  is  now  generally  called    Ti) 


X    # 

b    t|     H  #   i^ 


/X    # 

(t|       t,  #    #    X    ^    JK 


THE  ASSOCIATION  OF   PARTS 


51 


was  added  to  complete  the  line  of  the  scale  into  its  upper 
octave. 

As  long  as  the  melody  remained  within  one  hexachord, 
the  syllables  were  not  changed;  but  if  it  extended  beyond 
these  limits,  those  S341ables  had  to  be  adopted 
which  agreed  with  the  hexachord  into  which 
the  melody  ran.  This  was  known  as  muta- 
tion, and  was  something  akin  to  modern 
modulation.  Hence  the  expressions  Fa-Ut, 
Sol-Re,  etc.  (on  one  tone),  to  indicate  the 
mutation  from  one  hexachord  to  another.* 

Whatever  may  have  been  falsely  ac- 
credited to  Guido,  it  is  at  least  certain 
that  he  was  the  most  prominent  figure  in 
the  ecclesiastic  matters  of  his  century.  From 
Hucbald,  who  was  more  philosophic  and 
speculative,  and  whose  training  inclined 
him  to  scientific  theorising,  Guido  was  dis- 
tinguished for  his  interest  in  the  practical 
application  of  such  knowledge  as  he  pos- 
sessed. He  was  also  a  man  of  letters,  and 
wrote  a  book  of  twenty  chapters  on  musical 
theory  and  practice.  Among  other  things, 
he  says:  "My  way  is  not  the  way  of  the  philosopher;  I 
am  concerned  only  in  that  which  serves  and  brings  our 
youngsters  (the  choir-boys)  forward.  .  .  .  The  musician 
must  so  determine  his  melody  that  it  will  express  the 
meaning  of  the  words." 

*  See  Shakespeare,  Taming  of  the  Shrew,  Act  III,  Scene  I. 


ORGAN  I  STRUM 
(ninth  century) 


CHAPTER  VII 
GUIDO'S  SUCCESSORS.    MENSURAL  NOTATION 

The  momentous  events  described  in  the  preceding 
chapter  had  not  long  to  wait  for  their  significant  conse- 
quences. One  important  advance  followed  another  in 
comparatively  rapid  succession,  and  there  has  been,  from 
those  early  days  until  the  present,  no  further  impediment 
in  the  progress  of  musical  development.  Enough  experi- 
ence had  been  gained,  and  musical  perception  had  been 
sufficiently  developed,  to  make  the  natural  growth  of  the 
new  art  possible  and  easy,  and,  in  consequence,  the  ulti- 
mate fulfilment  of  its  real  purpose  was  only  a  question 
of  time.  The  almost  total  misapprehension  of  the  true 
spirit  of  music,  the  deep  ignorance  of  its  power  as  a 
medium  of  emotional  expression,  had  at  last  given  way 
to  a  realisation  of  its  possible  relations  to  the  spiritual 
phases  of  life.  Vague  intimations  of  its  deeper  beauty 
and  value  were  gradually  becoming  more  definite  and 
certain,  and  that  which  had  been  regarded  either  as  a 
pastime  or  as  a  mystery,  suited  only  to  the  aims  of  the 
curious  student,  began  to  reveal  its  secret  resources  and 
to  command  attention  as  a  new  and  most  powerful  attri- 
bute of  advancing  culture. 

The  narrow  Hmitation  of  music  to  one  melodic  line 
was  removed  by  the  experiments  and  subsequent  achieve- 
ments in  the  art  of  associating  melodies.  The  imperfect 
and  in  some  respects  unnatural  theories  of  scale  structure 
were  swept  aside  by  the  hexachord  system  of  Guido's 
day.  Inadequacies  and  inaccuracies  of  the  methods  of 
musical    notation   were    constantly    being    repaired,    and 

52 


GUIDO'S  SUCCESSORS  53 

thus  a  firm  foundation,  grounded  upon  the  principles  of 
physical  law,  was  gradually  being  laid  and  cemented, 
ready  for  the  superstructure  of  music  as  an  art  of  ex- 
quisite refinement  and  beauty. 

To  Guldo  himself  many  of  these  Innovations  and  re- 
forms have  been  attributed — probably,  as  already  hinted, 
man}''  more  than  he  could  or  would  justl}'  lay  claim  to. 
But  of  his  Influence  upon  the  healthy  growth  of  the  art 
under  his  firm  and  w^se  guidance  there  can  be  no  doubt; 
and  the  significance  of  his  suggestions  is  indirectly  at- 
tested by  the  enthusiasm  displayed  in  musical  matters 
among  his  direct  successors. 

Among  the  erudite  musical  minds  of  this  era  who 
were  almost  certalnl}^  familiar  with  Guide's  activities,  and 
doubtless  shared  them  with  him  in  their  own  provinces, 
the  most  important  were: 

Johannes  Cottonius  (about  1050),  a  disciple  of  Guido 
and  a  teacher  of  his  sj^stem. 

William,  abbot  of  the  convent  at  Hirschau  in  the 
Black  Forest  (about  1068). 

Aribo,  a  Benedictine  monk  (end  of  the  eleventh  cen- 
tury), also  a  pupil  of  Guido  and  an  able  exponent  of  his 
theories  and  pedagogic  methods. 

[The  writings  of  these  and  other  distinguished  teachers 
were  collected  and  published  In  1784  by  Martin  Gerbert, 
at  St.  Blasien  in  the  Black  Forest.] 

The  elements  of  notation  existing  in  the  neuma  char- 
acters, imperfect  though  they  were,  and  the  rude  begln- 
ings  of  the  staffs,  had  already  been  discovered.  But  no 
method  of  determining  the  time-values  of  the  notes  or 
musical  characters  was  yet  devised,  probably  because  the 
rhythmic  values  In  use  were  either  so  uniform  or  so  ac- 
curately fitted  to  the  text  that  no  other  specific  direc- 
tions were  necessary.  But  it  seems  evident  that  a  more 
animated  and  manifold  rhythmic  arrangement  began  at 
this  time  to  assert  itself,  Induced,  possibly,  by  the  marked 
activity  of  musical  development  in  secular  circles  (out- 


54 


ESSENTIALS  IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


side  of  the  church).  It  is  also  obvious  that  the  newly 
established  practice  of  part-singing  (combined  melodies) 
demanded  some  means  of  regulating  the  rhythmic  val- 
ues so  that  the  singers  could  perform  their  concerted  in- 
tonations in  "correct  time." 


&/minaihdmcamacpracTicam<eTHarmo: 


From  Gafuri's  "De  Harmonia  Musicorum  Instnimentorum  Opus.'' 
A  CLASS  IN  MUSIC 


At  all  events,  the  need  of  an  exact  system  of  tone 
measurement  was  recognised,  and  very  soon  the  required 
symbols  were  determined  and  adopted.  These  were  called 
mensuras,  or  time  quantities,  and  they  represented  (at 
first)  single,  double,  threefold,  and  fourfold  durations. 
The  characters  used  to  denote  these  time-values  were 
derived  chiefly  from  the  neuma  script.  It  is  not  known 
just  when  this  process  began,  but  it  appears  to  have  been 
in  operation  early  in  the  twelfth  century.  Thereafter, 
music  which  moved  in  a  definite  measure  was  called 
mensural  music,  and  the  script  employed  for  it  was  that 
mensural  notation  out  of  which  our  present  system  pro- 


GUIDO'S   SUCCESSORS  55 

ceeded  so  directly  that  there  may  be  said  to  be  no  essen- 
tial difference  between  them. 

One  of  the  earhest  advocates  of  the  new  styles  of  no- 
tation, and  the  author  of  many  fragments  of  mensural 
music,  was  Franco  of  Paris,  known  in  history  as  the 
French,  or  elder.  Franco  (probably  the  last  half  of  the 
twelfth  century). 

Another  pioneer  was  Franco  of  Cologne,  or  the  German 
Franco.  He  was  about  twenty  years  younger  than  his 
French  namesake  and  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
writers  and  teachers  of  his  day.  From  his  writings  the 
following  accounts  of  early  mensural  music  are  gleaned: 
At  first  there  were  only  two  note-values,  the  longa  and 
the  hrevis  (the  long  and  the  short),  written  in  black  char- 
acters, thus:  ^^1  and  HI.     (The  stem  then  indicated 

the  longer  note,  not  the  shorter,  as  nowadays.)  Franco 
himself  used  four  varieties,  the  duplex  longa  or  maxima 

^^^^,  the  longa  ^J>  the  hrevis  HB,  and  the  semi- 
hrevis  ^.     Later,  the  minima    j  ,    the  semiminima    T 

and  fusa  or  croma     y  (each  half  the  time-value  of  the 

preceding  one)  were  added.  Among  these  last,  the  ef- 
fect of  the  stems  was  to  divide  the  value  of  the  note,  as 
in  modern  notation.  The  relation  of  these  characters  to 
those  of  our  modern  notes  is  evident:  the  brevis  and 
semibrevis  correspond  to  our  longest  time-values  (  [j  [[ 
and  fy  ),  but  written  as  open  (white)  notes,  instead  of 
black,  as  was  the  custom  until  about  the  fourteenth  or 
early  fifteenth  century.  These  terms  breve  and  semi- 
breve,  and  also  the  term  minim  ( ^j )  ^^e  still  in  use  in 
England,  where  the  semiminim  and  fusa  are  known  as 
crochet  (J)  and  quaver  ( -1    )• 

Franco  of  Cologne  introduced  triple  measure  into  the 
mensural  system,  and  gave  it  the  name  tempus  perfec- 
tum,  or  perfect  measure,  because  of  its  numerical  coinci- 


56 


ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


dence  with  the  blessed  Trinity,  the  symbol  of  perfection. 
Duple  measure  was  called  te7?iptis  i7nperfectum.  For  the 
perfect  {i.  e.,  triple)  division  the  complete,  or  perfect, 
circle  (  O  )  was  used  as  metre  signature;  for  the  imperfect 
(duple)  division  the  sign  was  a  half  circle,  C,  a  character 
which  survives  in  our  sign  for  4/4  measure  and  which  is 
incorrectly  supposed  to  indicate  "common  time."  A  great 
number  of  other  distinctions  were  introduced  until,  after 
a  time,  the  entire  mensural  system  became  extremely 
complex  and  existed  apparently  chiefly  in  theory,  to  a 
limited  extent,  onl}^  in  practice. 

When  two  or  more  tones  were  to  be  sung  to  one  syl- 
lable the  notes  were  not  slurred,  as  in  modern  usage,  but 
were  joined.  The  connected  groups  were  called  ligatures 
and  were  of  two  kinds,  straight  and  oblique.     Thus: 

Ligatura  recta: 


sung 


Ligatura  obliqua: 


- 

—      .^■■'"^ 

sun? 

"    ^        ^^ 

'^ 

!      ^ 

^~             1    "~ 

The  writings  of  the  German  Franco  testify  to  extraor- 
dinary progress  in  the  growth  of  the  art  during  the  thir- 
teenth century,  but  are  insufficient  to  aff"ord  an  accurate 
conception  of  the  matters  about  which  he  speaks.  He 
names  four  distinct  classes  of  vocal  music  for  which  the 
discantus  was  used;  namely,  motette,  cantilenis,  con- 
ductus,  and  rondellis.  Three  of  these  suggest  terms  in 
modern  use,  but  the  character  of  the  conductus  can 
scarcely  be  discovered.* 

Soon  after  the  days  of  the  two  Francos,  mensural  music 
appears  to  have  flourished  most  vigorously  in  England; 

*  See  Chapter  XI. 


GUIDO'S   SUCCESSORS  57 

but  there  is  positive  evidence,  as  will  be  seen,  of  its  vi- 
tality and  progress  also  in  France,  Belgium,  the  Nether- 
lands, Ital}^  and  Germany — of  course,  in  connection  with 
the  life  and  ceremonial  of  the  Roman  church.  The  dis- 
tinguished contemporaries  of  Franco  were: 

Petrus  de  Cruce  (Pierre  de  la  Croix,  about  1170). 

Walter  Odington  (about  1228). 

Jerome  of  Moravia  (early  part  of  the  thirteenth  cen- 
tury). 

Important  achievements  are  ascribed  to  three  nearly 
contemporaneous  musical  scholars  in  the  next  following 
generation: 

Marchetto  of  Padua  (second  half  of  the  thirteenth  cen- 
tur)^). 

Phillip  de  Vitry  (Bishop  of  Meaux,  end  of  the  thirteenth 
century), 

Johannes  de  Muris  (Doctor  of  the  Sorbonne  in  Paris, 
1 300-1 370).  With  the  last  two,  especially,  a  new  era  in 
the  development  of  part-music  appears  to  have  opened, 
for  it  was  De  Vitry,  and  after  him  De  Muris,  who  first 
enunciated  definite  rules  of  contrapuntal  technic  and 
established  a  regular  system  of  comparatively  complex 
part-writing.  These  rules,  six  in  number,  are  recognised 
b}^  the  most  refined  modern  theor}^  as  the  correct  basis 
of  all  harmonic  and  contrapuntal  writing.  The  following 
are  particularly  applicable: 

Rule  3,  "  Every  sentence  must  begin  and  end  with  a 
perfect  consonance," 

Rule  4.  "  Every  dissonance  must  be  followed  by  a 
consonance  which  resolves  it,  and  not  by  another  disso- 
nance." 

Rule  6.  "  Imperfect  consonances  (third  and  sixth)  may 
follow  each  other  in  parallel  direction;  but  parallel  per- 
fect consonances  (octave  and  fifth)  are  forbidden." 

These  rules  have  retained  their  validity,  because  they 
were  the  result  of  correct  judgment,  by  ear  or  by  instinct, 
of  the  true  natural  laws  of  harmonic  succession. 


58 


ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


De  Vitry  and  De  Muris  taught  their  new  system  under 
the  name  contrapunctus,  though  this  term  was  origi- 
nally limited  to  music  for  two  parts  only,  whence  the  ex- 
pression pu7ictus  contra  punctum,  or  note  against  note. 
Examples  of  the  writings  of  the  twelfth,  thirteenth,  and 

fourteenth  centuries 
exist,  consisting  of 
two,  three,  and  even 
four  independent 
parts,  which  exhibit  a 
remarkable  degree  of 
skill  and  a  certain 
kind  of  stately  beauty, 
though  little  or  no 
evidence  of  true  mu- 
sical feeling. 

In  the  newly  found- 
ed capella  at  Avignon 
a  singular  style  of 
three-voice  psalmody 
came  into  vogue  early 
in  the  fourteenth 
century.  It  was  called 
falso  hordone  or  jaux  bourdon  (English,  faburden);  the 
cantus  firmus  was  placed  in  the  upper  part  and  har- 
monised throughout  with  parallel  thirds  and  sixths,  ex- 
cepting at  the  end,  where  a  cadence  was  made  on  the 
eighth  and  fifth.     An  example  (conjectural)  is  as  follows: 


AN  ORGAN  OF  THE  TENTH  CENTURY 


^ 


jC2. 

T-<g— 


!5' 


-J. 


i^^^^S 


The  bass  has  the  third,  not  the  root,  of  each  chord,  hence 
the  name,  false  fundament. 


From  Emil  Naumann's  History  oj  Music. 


GUIDO'S   SUCCESSORS 

■ .  *%     T-r 

__- ■  ■ —     ■' 


59 


3^'!\emas  dcr  jxmam  d^cc  mfhoa  dccdo  pnjfpcwr 


oili    c      no  bis    ce   l^ 

-■       ■  ■■    r- 

naf  dc  m  tgint  tw  fa  di  gn4- 


J      ^1     nJ    ^ 


/M    \    1 


T-t- 


:55cc 


"■'■',■*  *    1   I  1 1  ■  '■  -     r     1       i       1  ...I      .  ■  ■   ' « — 

lo  niij!fiqoi4ifaIa$  ccctui    twnuno  gmm  a       jfa,^ 


t ,  >v.^i^  -1^-  %ift 


-■ — »■ 


Iw4    tncccdfe  <ko  <rmicm  jmx  (jomi 


{ ■  t    n- 


^    n  •  ^^V^     .^i 


» l»  ^.1,*  pp  la-dr  f!»  ndw  Ijcmc  .  y er  mum  man 

From  a  fourteenth-century  manuscript. 

ANTIPHONARIUM 


6o         ESSENTIALS  IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

Faux  bourdon  excelled  all  other  experiments  in  point 
of  euphony,  and  it  is,  therefore,  no  wonder  that  it  be- 
came popular.  It  is  significant  of  the  advance  in  mu- 
sical perception,  because  it  indicates  the  awakening  sense 
of  harmonic  effect,  as  opposed  to  the  constraint  of  life- 
less rules;  it  brought  the  student  face  to  face  with  the 
spirit  of  genuine  music  and  weakened  the  awkward  fet- 
ters which  still  bound  it. 

The  early  schools  of  actual  musical  production,  founded 
upon  the  theoretical  principles  described  above,  and  the 
masters  who  were  active  during  this  early  epoch  in  the 
development  of  a  system  of  composition,  will  be  pre- 
sented in  detail  in  the  eleventh  chapter. 

Thus  was  music  adapting  and  shaping  itself  as  a  me- 
dium of  more  perfect  and  refined  expression.  The  suc- 
cessors of  Guido  were  solving  a  mystery  in  human  thought 
that  has  literally  made  music  the  true  and  adequate 
language  of  the  emotions.  The  efforts  that  brought  about 
this  remarkable  result  were  evolving  at  the  time  of  the 
Norman  Conquest,  when  the  Saxon  rule  in  England  came 
to  an  end  by  the  victory  of  William  the  Conqueror 
(1066  A.  D.).  In  this  period  not  music  alone  became 
fixed  in  its  adoption  of  ways  and  means  for  development 
that  have  persisted  to  this  day,  but  our  English  speech 
was  slowly  undergoing  that  change,  through  Norman  in- 
fluences, which  led  to  the  brilliant  effusions  of  Geoffrey 
Chaucer.  Indeed,  the  influences  that  made  possible  the 
writing  of  the  Canterbury  pilgrims  were  parallel  with 
others  that  were  active  among  the  people,  that  is,  aside 
from  the  church,  which  give  evidence  of  the  early  spirit  of 
romanticism  in  poetry  and  in  song  that  was  soon  to  come 
to  a  fuller  realisation  of  its  inherent  possibilities. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

MUSIC  OF  THE  PEOPLE.    TROUBADOURS, 
MINSTRELS 

While  the  music-loving  students  within  the  church, 
favoured  with  sufficient  leisure  and  surrounded  with  the 
opportunities  for  thorough  education,  laboured  faith- 
fully to  perfect  the  theories  and  improve  the  practice  of 
church  music,  the  secular  world  was  no  less  active  in 
cultivating  its  habits  of  musical  expression.  The  singers 
of  the  people  had  the  advantage  of  entire  freedom  not 
only  in  their  methods  but  in  the  choice  of  subjects;  for 
they  were  not  trammelled  by  strict  ecclesiastic  rules  or 
by  laboured  theories,  but,  relying  upon  their  natural  in- 
stincts, sang  as  the  heart  and  musical  feeling  dictated. 

It  is,  therefore,  not  surprising  that  the  development  of 
music  as  a  vehicle  of  free  expression  should,  outside  of 
the  church,  have  been  both  more  vigorous  and  speedy 
than  that  of  the  learned  ecclesiasts,  and  that  popular 
music  should,  when  opportunity  arose,  have  gathered  the 
means  of  exerting  a  wholesome  influence  upon  that  of 
the  church.  On  the  other  hand,  the  achievements  of  the 
churchmen  could  not  be  prevented  from  surmounting 
the  walls  of  the  monasteries  and  finding  their  way  into 
the  practices  of  the  people,  to  exercise  in  their  turn  a 
vitalising  influence  upon  secular  music. 

The  earliest  representatives  of  intuitive  musical  ex- 
pression were  the  Scandinavian  skalds,  the  Celtic  bards, 
and  other  secular  singers  of  the  north,  who  flourished  at 
an  early  period  of  the  Christian  era.     Such  accounts  of 

6i 


62 


ESSENTIALS   IN   MUSIC  HISTORY 


their  style  of  minstrelsy  as  have  been  preserved  lead  to 
tbe  conjecture  that  their  music  must  have  exhibited  a 

remarkable  degree  of  uncouth 
vigour  and,  possibly,  of  wild 
melodic  beauty.  But  all  of 
these  chronicles  are  meagre, 
especially  in  regard  to  the  mu- 
sical setting  of  the  verses,  and 
it  is  not  possible  to  form  more 
than  a  general  judgment  of  the 
popular  music  of  any  period 
prior  to  that  of  the  troubadours 
of  the  south,  and  the  minstrels 
of  Great  Britain. 

One  of  the  oldest  known 
melodies  is  that  of  an  elegy 
to  Charlemagne,  written  and 
composed  in  814.  The  musi- 
cal characters  are,  of  course,  neumas,  which  have  been 
deciphered  as  follows: 


A  THREE-STRING  VIELLE 
(cathedral  sculpture,  amiens) 


This  melody  continues  in  the  same  narrow  compass  of 
three  tones  for  thirteen  more  measures. 

But  a  fairly  distinct  glimpse  of  the  nature  of  popular 
music  as  it  was  practised  in  all  European  countries  as 
far  back  as  the  twelfth  (and  even  the  eleventh)  century 
is  afforded  by  such  remnants  as  have  survived  of  the 
verse  and  song  of  the  chivalrous  troubadours  and  minne- 
singers of  that  era.  The  following  pastoral  love-song, 
ascribed  to  King  Thibaut  of  Navarre  (1201-1253),  has, 
in  its  modern,  though  somewhat  conjectural,  notation, 


MUSIC  OF  THE   PEOPLE 


63 


a   melodious,   winning   quality  and   a   clear,  well-unified 
structure: 


4- 


#  .  »— »-H — '~~r  g-hj — I — I— tI 

^ -P 1 1 H ^ • F 0 ^ 1 41 


In  the  south  of  France,  where  they  are  first  encountered, 
this  class  of  music  lovers  was  known  as  trobadors  (from 
trohar  and  trouver,  to  find — as  they  were  the  "  finders  " 
or  inventors  of  their  own  melodies).  The  first  ones  men- 
tioned are  Count  William  of  Poitiers  (1087-1127),  and 
Chatelaine  de  Coucy.  The  French  troubadours  did  not, 
as  a  rule,  sing  their  melodies  themselves,  but  were  at- 
tended by  a  skilful  singer  and  player  called  jongleur  or 
jougleur. 

In  the  north  of  France,  where  the  two  classes  were 
known  as  trouveres  and  menestrels,  the  effusions  were 
more  poetical  and  serious  than  were  those  of  the  more 
romantic  sons  of  the  south.  The  nobility,  and  even  roy- 
alty, far  from  ignoring  this  truly  charming  romantic  trait 
of  the  Middle  Ages,  took  pleasure  in  its  cultivation. 
Richard  the  Lion-hearted,  Thibaut  of  Champagne  (King 
of  Navarre),  Robert,  Delphine  of  Auvergne,  John  of 
Brienne,  and  others  were  listed  in  the  ranks  of  distin- 
guished trouveres.  Count  Henry  of  Burgundy  carried 
the  art  of  minstrelsy  into  Portugal.  In  Spain,  where  it 
also  flourished,  the  two  classes  were  called  trobadores 
and   joglares.     In    Italy    minstrelsy  was   also   known   at 


64 


ESSENTIALS  IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


that  time,  but  little  practised,  because  it  was  restrained 
by  the  superior  power  of  the  church  of  Rome. 

The  chief  object  of  verse  and  melody  among  the  trou- 
badours was  the  homage  of  the  fair  sex,  the  chivalrous 
praise  of  womanly  virtue  and  beauty,  and  the  reflection 

of  the  joys  and  bitterness  of 
love.  Another  object,  especially 
among  the  inferior  class,  was 
to  extol  the  valour  of  brave 
knights  and  to  recount  the  his- 
tories of  war  and  battle.  Such 
subjects  were  calculated  to 
stimulate  natural  musical  in- 
stinct and  to  impart  to  melodic 
utterance  an  ever-increasing 
accuracy  of  perception  and  cor- 
rectness of  expression.  One 
can  readily  comprehend  the  su- 
perior influence  exerted  upon 
the  human  mind  by  such  a  free 
emotional  fancy,  far  stronger 
and  more  direct  than  that 
aroused  by  the  themes  of  the 
church,  which,  inspired  and  in- 
spiring though  they  were,  must 
needs  be  held  in  rigorous  sub- 
jection to  their  holy  environment  and  solemn  purposes. 
And  the  student  of  history  is,  therefore,  not  greatly  as- 
tonished at  the  genuine  beauty  of  some  of  the  popular 
lays,  at  a  time  when  the  intonations  of  the  church  were 
still  extremely  unmelodious. 

The  lays  of  older  trouveres  are  somewhat  angular;  but 
those  of  the  following  generation  are  so  graceful,  so  tuneful 
and  unconstrained,  and  reflect  so  naturall)^  the  movements 
of  human  passion,  that  they  leave  but  little  to  be  desired. 
Some  are  replete  with  dignified  sentiment,  like  the  follow- 
ing famous  Quant  le  rossignol,  by  Chatelaine  de  Coucy: 


INSTRUMENTAL   PERFORMER 
(fourteenth  century 


MUSIC  OF  THE   PEOPLE 

elf     *    ^  '^    *    »  ■  a 


:w=:i^ 


65 


In  modern  notation: 


UXj^^Lu\iili\n\\^^f^']$h 


The  melody  is  thirty-five  measures  long,  undeniably 
pleasant  in  its  simplicity  and  natural  movement,  and 
grouped  in  a  structural  form  that 
would  be  pronounced  nearly  fault- 
less by  modern  theorists. 

The  dance,  which  has  always 
been  a  manifestation  of  human 
vitality  and  love  of  innocent 
pleasure,  afforded  a  particularly 
happy  and  powerful  stimulus  to 
musical  practice,  and  it  is  prob- 
able that  popular  music  owes 
more  to  this  wide-spread  agency 
than  to  any  other  emotional  or 
poetical  impulse.  It  is,  there- 
fore, not  unlikely  that  many  of 
the  melodies  used  b}^  the  min- 
strels owe  their  origin  and  form 
directly  to  the  dance,  of  which  as 
many  styles  must  have  existed  in 
the  Middle  Ages  as  now.  The  songs  that  accompanied 
these  dances  constituted  a  special  class  of  melodies.  The 
most  popular  dances  in  vogue  at  this  period  were  the 
ring  dance,  or  round  dance  (in  which  the  dancers  joined 
hands  and  sprang  in  rotary  movement),  and  the  spring- 
ing dance.  The  former  was  also  called  carol,  later,  rondet 
de  carol,  and  in  Belgium,  rondeau.     Further,  the  ballad  * 

*  The  ballad  subsequently  appears  in  a  highly  idealised  form,  in  the  works  of 
Frederic  Chopin. 


VIELLE 
(thirteenth    century) 


66 


ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


was  originally,   as  the   name   implies,    a   dance   melody, 
and   often  went  by  the  simple  name  ballet. 

Probably  the  most  distinguished  troubaJodr  of  north- 
ern France  was  Adam  de  la  Halle,  or  Adam  d'Arras.  He 
was  born  in  1240  at  Arras,  in  Picardy,  was  educated  in 
the  abbey  of  Vauxcelles,  and  was  designed  for  the  priestly 
calling  because  of  the  evidences  he  early  gave  of  supe- 
rior mental  capacity.  But  he  was  drawn  into  the  service 
of  Count  Robert  II  of  Artois,  with  whom  he  journeyed 
to  Naples  in  1282,  and  there  he  is  supposed  to  have  died 
in  1287.  In  the  annals  of  French  literature  Adam  d'Ar- 
ras is  characterised  as  "  one  of  the  founders  of  dramatic 
art  in  France";  and  in  music  history  his  name  is  asso- 
ciated with  those  who  first  succeeded  in  producing  genu- 
ine musical  results  in  part-writing.  He  was,  in  a  sense, 
a  connecting-link  between  the  troubadours  and  their 
style,  which  he  cultivated  with  eminent  success,  and  the 
scholastic  musicians,  with  whom  he  vied  in  the  produc- 
tion of  dexterous  compositions.  The  following  Song  to 
the  Virgin  seems  to  deserve  the  epithet  "  beautiful," 
more  fully  than  any  other  known  melody  of  so  early  a 
date.     In  modern  notation: 


S 


W- 


■&- 


^^=^d 


-(=2- 


-j^ 


Adam  de  la  Halle  was  also  the  author  of  a  pastoral 
play,  Rohin  et  Marion^  to  which  reference  will  be  made 
in  a  later  chapter. 

In  the  notation  of  their  melodies  the  troubadours  in- 
dicated, or,  more  correctly,  intimated,  the  rhythm  by 
the  three  common  values  then  extant — the  longa,  brevis, 
and  semibrevis.     But  much  was  of  necessity  left  to  the 


MUSIC  OF  THE   PEOPLE 


^1 


judgment  of  the  singer,  as  the  methods  were  still  both 
imperfect  and  comphcated. 

Musical  study  and  culture  were  not  uncommon  among 
the  people  in  the  days  of  chivalrous  minstrelsy.  It  was, 
in  fact,  regarded  as  an  important  part  of  good  educa- 
tion, and  especially  for  the  young  knight  as  great  a  requi- 
site as  the  by  no  means  common  acquirements  of  reading 
and  writing.  Women,  too,  took  part  in  such  musical 
instruction  as  could  be  obtained,  and  were  expected  to 
learn  to  sing,  and  to  play  some  stringed  instrument 
(lyre,  harp,  or  fiddle).  The  tunes  were  carried  from 
place  to  place  by  strolling  players. 


From  a  manuscript  of  the  twelfth  century  in  the  library  of  Trinity  College,  Cambridge. 
ORGAN  WITH  BELLOWS  WORKED  BY  LEVERS 


CHAPTER  IX 

MUSIC  OF  THE  PEOPLE.    MINNESINGERS  AND 
MEISTERSINGERS 

The  innate  love  of  music  and  the  desire  to  find  in  it 
an  adequate  means  for  emotional  expression  character- 
ised the  German  people  during  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth 
centuries  to  a  far  greater  degree  than  is  evident  among 
the  troubadours  of  the  neighbouring  Latin  countries. 
Hence,  the  manifestations  of  this  common  impulse  for 
musical  expression  were  more  genuinely  poetical  and  sen- 
timental in  Germany  than  were  those  of  the  gallant  and 
chivalrous  troubadours,  for  the  German  was  a  pronounced 
lover  of  nature;  the  flowers,  the  forest,  the  springtime, 
the  songs  of  birds — all  these  appealed  to  him,  and  his 
conception  of  love  was  purer  and  more  ideal  than  that  of 
his  brothers  of  the  south  and  west. 

The  Germanic  bards  were  known  as  minnesingers 
{minne,  signifying  love);  and  the  first  accounts  of  Ger- 
manic minnesong  date  from  the  reign  of  the  Hohen- 
staufen  emperor  Frederick  Barbarossa  (ii 52-1 190),  and 
designate  Heinrich  von  Veldecke  as  one  of  the  first  to 
advocate  and  practise  symmetrical  metre  and  pure 
rhyme. 

The  importance  of  art  in  national  life  is  always  rela- 
tive to  the  ideals  and  active  pursuits  of  the  people  them- 
selves. Frederick  Barbarossa  was  not  only  a  patron  of 
letters  and  the  arts,  but  he  had  the  capacity  to  conceive 
and  carry  out  extensive  undertakings.  He  made  the 
second  and  third  Crusades  to  the  Holy  Land,  and  he  be- 

68 


MUSIC  OF  THE   PEOPLE 


69 


came  emperor  at  the  age  of  thirt3^-one;  thenceforth  he 
bent  all  his  energies  to  bring  about  public  order  and 
prosperity  and  to  bestow  greater  freedom  upon  the  cit- 


vin'9o^ura)3t. 


(vn  Wi>23>rfw  "Von  "(TiseSinfc 


THE  SINGING  CONTEST  AT  THE  WARTBURG 


ies  of  his  kingdom.  Undoubtedly,  the  determined  influ- 
ence of  this  man  exerted  its  effect  throughout  the  entire 
social  order  and  stimulated  expression  not  alone  in  polit- 
ical activit}^  but  in  art  as  well. 

Shortly  after  his  death  there  took  place  the  famous 
tournament  in  the  Wartburg  in  Thuringia,  perpetuated 
in  Wagner's  opera    Ta7uihduser.     This  tournament  was, 


70 


ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


however,  not  a  musical  but  a  poetical  contest;  for  the 
minnesinger  was,  first  of  all,  a  poet,  while  his  music  was 
merely  an  adjunct  to  the  verse.  But  this  association  of 
verse  and  song  brought  a  new  force  to  bear  upon  musical 
expression  and  contributed  most  significantly  to  the  de- 
velopment of  musical  practice. 

The  minnesingers  who  frequented  royal  palaces  and 
feudal  castles  as  honoured  guests  and  repaid  their  pa- 
tron's hospitality  with  song  and  lay,  rarely  depended 
upon  the  services  of  an  attendant  jongleur,  but  preferred 
to  sing  and  accompany  themselves.  A  large  number  of 
their  melodies  have  been  preserved,  in  the  notation  of 
the  time — the  large  Gothic  note— the  most  of  which  bear 
rather  close  resemblance  to  the  ecclesiastic  intonations 
and  are  much  less  flowing  and  melodious  than  those  of 
the  troubadours.  The  following  sacred  hymn  is  strongly 
suggestive  of  the  subsequent  German  chorale,  and  indi- 
cates one  of  the  sources  from  which  the  chorales  were 
undoubtedly  derived: 


T 

1 

1  s, 

/^ 

:2 

fe 

-:t=4- 

-2=—^ 

ZU-?- 

-(2.—(i— 

-A — 1 
-^ — ^— 

-^ — <^— 

-?^ — 

-^—f— 

tfe 

P— 

Z^ZS_ 

:=t= 

1 — ^ 

X=^^ 

[ — :— -(g— 

' 

:t:=t:_ 

\T 

f> 

_^ 

_(S 

tiT- 

"7 

pi- 

=4-| 

p— 

— H- 

tp= 

^^ 

tt= 

•^  -^ 

P  rfP^ 

g* 

-f^*-j 

te 

-^- 

PT 


d— 2=*- 


:2i=i-: 


Others,  again,  of  a  somewhat  later  date,  exhibit  the 
more  genuine  melodious  qualities  of  popular  song,  as  the 
following,  from  the  second  half  of  the  thirteenth  century, 
which  is  extremely  regular  in  structure  (as  shown  by  the 
slurs  and  letters  here  adjoined  to  the  notes),  and  indicates 
correct  perception  of  the  conditions  of  good,  natural  mel- 
ody: 


MUSIC  OF  THE   PEOPLE 


al 


Fi=P= 


71 


I 


:^it 


-:UEi?. 


-^-0 


^ 


bl 


g^ 


-^— •- 


t=«=t 


-I 1 vl 


b2 


lei 


<?3 


I       I       L   I    -t 


Uke-^? 


a\ 


-I — h: 


1=t: 


.^— ^ 


JaLzh — [- 


f— I — F— f-f^ 


-♦— * 


r^cfiizz^ 


-#— * — • — p-m-r-i^ 

H 1 1 F-  --«-;< 


±=w 


^ 


1 — h 


like^? 

The  minnesingers  distinguished  three  classes  of  secular 
melody:  the  leich,  the  spruch  (sentence),  and  the  lied 
(song).  The  leich*  may  have  originated  in  the  older 
dance  forms,  though  some  identify  it  with  the  ecclesias- 
tic sequence.  The  spruch  consisted  of  but  one  strophe. 
The  lied  was  longer,  consisting  generally  of  three  sec- 
tions, the  third  of  which  corroborated  the  first,  all  very 
regular  in  metric  form;  and  it  was  so  identified  with  the 
verse  that  it  was  not  permissible  to  use  the  same  melody 
for  another  poem. 

The  early  period  of  minnesong  was  represented  by 
Veldecke,  Spervogel,  Dietmar  von  Kurenberg,  and  others; 
the  middle  and  best  period  (about  the  beginning  of  the 

*  English,  lay;  Anglo-Saxon,  lac  (play  or  sport);  Irish,  laio,  laoith  (a  song  or 
poem). 


72 


ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC   HISTORY 


thirteenth  century)  by  Heinrich  von  Morungen,  Wolfram 
von  Eschenbach,  Gottfried  von  Strassburg,  Hartmann 
von   Aue,   and   Walther   von   der   Vogelweide;    the   last 


HEINRICH  VON  MEISSEN,  CALLED  FRAUENLOB 


period,  in  which  the  art  declined,  by  Nithardt  von  Reuen- 
thal,  Konrad  von  Wiirzburg,  and  Reinmar  von  Zweter 
(end  of  the  thirteenth  century).  The  last  famous  name 
was  Heinrich  von  Meissen  (1260-1318),  distinguished  in 
the  history  of  German  literature  for  his  quaint  substitu- 
tion of  the  more  tender  expression  "frau"  (lady)  for  the 


MUSIC  OF  THE   PEOPLE 


73 


earlier  epithet  "weib"  (woman),  which  gallantry  won  him 
the  title  of  "frauenlob." 

Minnesong  was  not  destined  to  enjoy  a  protracted  ex- 
istence, but  passed,  after  scarcely  more  than  a  century 
of  popularity,  from  the  knightly  bards  down  to  the  more 
lowly  citizens  and  respectable  artisans.  The  aristocratic 
minnesong  became  the 
professional  plebeian 
meistersong  (master 
song)  of  the  people. 

The  earliest  authentic 
account  of  the  organisa- 
tion of  meistersingers 
dates  from  the  four- 
teenth centur)^  and 
tends  to  confirm  the 
conclusion  that  these 
had  inherited  the  tradi- 
tion of  minnesong.  Em- 
peror Charles  IV  granted 
to  the  meistersingers  a 
patent  and  heraldic 
rights  in  the  year  1387,  at  which  time  the  principal  centre 
of  the  guild  was  Ma3^ence  on  the  Rhine,  though  guilds 
existed  in  Frankfort,  Colmar,  Prague,  and  a  few  other 
cities.  During  the  following  (the  fifteenth)  centur}^  mas- 
ter song  attained  its  greatest  popularity  and  perfection  in 
the  cities  of  Strassburg,  Augsburg,  and  Nuremberg;  a 
little  later  in  Ratisbon,  Ulm,  and  Munich. 

In  the  sixteenth  century  it  spread  to  the  eastern  fron- 
tiers of  German}^.  At  Nuremberg,  where  the  famous  cob- 
bler and  poet  Hans  Sachs  (1494-1576)  was  the  leading 
spirit  of  the  corporation,  contests  of  song  continued  to 
take  place  as  late  as  the  seventeenth  century — after  the 
Thirty  Years'  War.  The  corporation  of  German  meister- 
singers in  general  did  not  cease  to  exist  until  the  year 


HANS  SACHS 


74  ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

1839,  when  the  four  surviving  members  of  the  singing- 
school  at  Ulm  transferred  their  insignia  and  records  to 
the  Liederkranz  Society  of  that  city. 

There  are  some  points  of  resemblance  between  the 
musical  style  of  the  earlier  meistersingers  and  their  pred- 
ecessors the  minnesingers,  but,  on  the  whole,  that  of 
the  former  was  more  rude,  clums}^,  and  plebeian  than  the 
latter.     While  minnesong,  no  matter  how  primitive,  al- 


^J^ 


^fOOO    0  0/  O  /  ^^    o — — ^ %^ 


MANUSCRIPT  BY  HANS   SACHS 

ways  revealed  some  traits  of  nobihty,  meistersong  was 
invariably  dull  and  prosaic,  monotonous,  and,  with  ex- 
tremely rare  exceptions,  devoid  of  true  beauty  or  natural 
musical  expression.  Consequently,  while  music  meant  a 
great  deal  to  the  humble  tradesmen  and  brought  no  little 
sunshine  into  the  dull  humdrum  of  toil  which  filled  their 
simple  lives,  it  is  not  evident  that  their  activity  contrib- 
uted in  any  marked  degree  to  the  progress  of  art  or 
that  they  ever  accomplished  anything  to  further  the  de- 
velopment of  music.  One  thing,  it  is  true,  must  be  recog- 
nised as  a  debt  which  humanity,  especially  the  Germanic 
people,  owes  to  the  meistersingers,  and  that  is  the  in- 
troduction of  an  honest  and  not  unwholesome  musical 
conception  and  practice  into  the  domestic  lives  of  the 
people.  Music  became  through  them  a  part  of  the  house- 
hold occupations,  and  its  fruits  are  in  evidence  at  the 
present  day,  for  nowhere  else  has  household  music  (haus- 


MUSIC  OF  THE   PEOPLE  75 

musik)  become  so  general  and  beautiful  an  element  of 
civilisation  as  in  Germany — the  home  of  meistersong. 

The  by-laws  of  the  guild  were  very  exact  and  rigor- 
ously enforced,  but  so  prosaic  that  they  would  appear 
more  appropriate  for  any  other  association  than  for  one 
which  professed  artistic  aims.  The  record  of  these  by- 
laws and  the  rules  of  their  music  was  known  as  the 
tabulature.  The  master  earned  his  rank  by  inventing 
both  new  verse  and  melody;  the  poet  set  his  poems  to 
old  melodies;  the  singer  was  not  an  inventor  of  either 
verse  or  melody;  the  school  friend  or  amateur  was  one 
able  to  pass  a  lenient  examination.  To  the  so-called 
prime  contests  only  members  of  the  guild  were  admitted. 
The  subjects  were  chosen  from  the  Bible.  Every  fault, 
no  matter  how  slight,  was  strictly  noted  by  the  chosen 
umpire,  the  marker.  The  form,  involving  details  of  Hed, 
bar,  and  other  structural  requirements,  was  prescribed. 
In  case  a  new  melody  met  the  approval  of  the  marker, 
its  proud  author  might  select  a  name  for  it. 

In  his  opera,  The  Mastersingers  of  Nuremberg,  Richard 
Wagner  has  given  a  most  vivid  picture  of  the  salient 
traits  of  master  song  and  of  the  well-meaning  but  nar- 
row-minded men  who  practised  it. 

One  example  of  the  laboured  melody  of  the  meister- 
singers  will  suffice  to  exhibit  the  contrast  between  their 
conception  and  methods,  and  those  of  the  minnesingers: 


-&- 

-«>- 

-1=2- 

iS'- 

f^ 

fy 

-<s>- 

-/S 

rs*     /^ 

-^ 

, 

1 

1 

1 

f3 

lis 

->-r- 

' 

1 

L. 

L 

j 

' 

■ '  t 

t 

1: 

p  1 

t 

"Gen  -  e    -    sis      the    nine  -  and -twen  -  ti  -  eth      you     will    find: 

^  ^       -&-      -^-      -^      -^-      -fS"-        _  ^  -fN  etc. 

V- 1 1 1 —I 1 ^— ^ 


f=£^^=^=^=^=^~^~t:^^=tz=t 


How     Ja  -  cob  fled,  from    his     bro-ther    E  -  sau      es  -  caped." 

The  melody  here  selected  bears,  it  is  true,  a  marked 
and  possibly  not  unintentional  resemblance  to  the  one 


76 


ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


given  on  page  70,  and  both  might  claim  to  have  served 
Richard  Wagner  as  models  for  the  principal  figure  in  his 
Mastersinger  motive: 


Wagner's  undoubted  familiarit}^  with  these  historic  melo- 
dies, and  the  consistenc}^  of  his  artistic  methods,  preclude 
the  notion  of  mere  coincidence.  Their  historic  significance 
lies  in  the  evidence  they  afford  of  the  stupendous  progress 
in  musical  expression  during  the  past  four  centuries. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  the  music  activities  of 
this  period  were  stimulated  not  alone  by  local  conditions. 
A  potent  factor  that  inspired  the  singers  and  makers  of 
verse  from  the  beginning  of  the  twelfth  century  and  into 
the  thirteenth  was  the  Crusades.  This  religious  move- 
ment profoundly  affected  vast  numbers  of  people.  Many 
women  and  children  shared  in  the  enthusiasm  to  save  the 
Holy  Land  from  the  hands  of  the  infidels.  In  this  great 
movement  the  energy  of  the  people  found  a  worthy  me- 
dium through  which  to  express  and  shape  itself.  The 
order  of  knights  that  grew  out  of  the  Crusades  bound 
themselves  to  chastity,  poverty,  and  obedience.  They 
were  at  once  protectors  of  the  pilgrims  and  of  the  faith 
that  inspired  their  sacrifice.  Religion  and  the  valour  of 
the  soldier  were  combined,  and  so  strongly  did  they  influ- 
ence men  that  when  Godfrey  of  Bouillon  was  made  ruler 
over  Jerusalem  he  refused  to  wear  a  royal  crown  where 
the  Saviour  had  been  crowned  with  thorns. 

All  that  was  involved  in  this  movement — the  purpose, 
fidelity,  and  knightly  character,  the  long  marches  across 
the  continent  of  Europe,  the  mingling  of  many  peoples 


MUSIC  OF  THE   PEOPLE 


11 


— enriched  men's  minds,  broadened  their  experience,  and 
impelled  for  expression  in  all  social  activities  and  arts. 

While  the  momentous  purpose  of  the  Crusades  was  thus 
exerting  its  influence  English  literature  was  slowly  form- 
ing itself  for  the  significant  utterances  of  Chaucer.     Early 


THE  CRUSADER 


in  the  twelfth  century  Layamons  Brut,  a  poem  of  over 
thirty  thousand  lines,  was  written.  Orm's  Ormulum  was 
written  early  in  the  thirteenth  century.  About  1225  the 
Ancren  Riwle  (Rule  of  the  Anchoresses)  appeared,  a  work 
described  as  "  one  of  the  most  perfect  models  of  simple, 
natural,  eloquent  prose  in  our  language."  * 

*  Professor  Swift. 


78  ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

A  century  or  more  later  the  Travels  of  Sir  John  Mande- 
ville  (born  1300)  appeared,  "the  most  entertaining  vol- 
ume of  English  prose  that  we  have  before  1360."  f  This 
was  one  of  the  few  works  of  the  period  that  found  ready 
acceptance  among  the  people. 

The  reader  has  only  to  compare  the  following  lyric, 
probably  of  the  early  thirteenth  century,  with  the  mu- 
sical quotations  to  comprehend  that  our  mother  tongue 
and  the  art  of  music  were  shaping  themselves  for  a  bril- 
liant future: 

"  Sumer  is  i-cumen  in 
Lhude  sing  cuccu 
Groweth  sed  and  bloweth  med 
And  springeth  the  wde  nu. 
Sing  cuccu,  cuccu." 

t  Professor  R.  P.  Halleck. 


CHAPTER  X 

MUSIC  OF  THE  PEOPLE.    STROLLING  PLAYERS, 
FOLK-SONGS,  INSTRUMENTS 

At  about  the  time  when  German  minnesong  passed 
over  into  the  plebeian  master  song  a  new  and  by  no 
means  inconsiderable  power  in  the  development  of  music 
began  to  make  itself  felt.  This  power  was  wielded  by 
the  strolling  or  vagrant  players  and  pipers  who,  while 
representing  a  low  grade  of  the  populace,  possessed  some 
admirable  and  important  qualities.  They  were  shrewd, 
wide-awake,  often  moderately  well  educated,  and  they 
enjoyed  no  small  degree  of  favour  on  account  of  their 
ability  to  please  and  their  readiness  to  serve. 

This  class  of  popular  music  makers  had  existed  prob- 
ably several  centuries  before  music  found  recognition 
and  favour  among  the  more  cultivated  lovers  of  the  art. 
The  resemblance  between  these  strolling  players  and  the 
histrions,*  or  comedians,  of  early  Latin  and  Greek  days 
is  suggestive  and  points  to  their  possible  origin. 

They  sang  all  sorts  of  ditties,  played  on  various  instru- 
ments for  money,  especially  for  dancers,  accompanied 
the  bands  of  warriors,  amused  the  ladies  and  nobles  in 
their  castles,  recounted  deeds  of  valour  in  rude  verse, 
carried  news  from  town  to  town,  were  often  the  secret 
messengers  of  Cupid  and  always  the  welcome  merry- 
makers of  the  people..  But  they  were  vagrant,  homeless, 
and,  on  the  whole,  despised,  even  though  gladly  greeted 
on  all  festive  occasions  for  the  entertainment  they  un- 
faihngly  provided.     It  was  from  this  stratum  of  the  com- 

*  Histrion  =  a  player  or  actor. 
79 


8o 


ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


munity,  no  doubt,  that  the  troubadours  engaged  their 
assistant  jongleurs  or  menestrels,  and  in  that  capacity 
they  compelled  somewhat  greater  consideration  and  re- 
spect. 

In  Germany  the  strolling  players  began  to  lead  a  more 
settled    existence    and    established    corporations   for   the 

protection  of  their  com- 
mon interests  as  early  as 
the  thirteenth  century. 
These  corporations  were 
in  time  absorbed  by  the 
guild  of  town  pipers,  who 
enjoyed  a  certain  distinc- 
tion in  wealthier  cities. 
The  oldest  piper  guild 
in  Europe  was  probably 
the  Fraternity  of  St. 
Nicholas,  founded  in 
Vienna  in  1288.  After 
the  fifteenth  century 
they  were  known  in 
many  places  as  city 
trumpeters.  The  system 
of  protective  union 
spread  to  England  and 
France,    where    similar 

DUDELSACK   PLAYER 

(AFTER  ALBRECHT  DfjRER)  corporations  wete  or- 

ganised. 
Every  piper  was  subject  to  a  "  guardian  of  musicians," 
an  office  which  existed  as  late  as  the  reign  of  Maria 
Theresa  and  was  not  abolished  until  1782.  In  France 
this  guardian  was  called  the  king  of  fiddlers  {roy  des 
menestriers  and,  later,  roy  des  violons).  He  exercised 
control  over  the  pipers  of  his  district  and  saw  to  it  that 
"no  player,  whether  piper,  drummer,  or  whatsoever  else 
he  might  be,  should  be  tolerated  without  he  be  first  ac- 
cepted and  elected  a  member  of  the  brotherhood." 


MUSIC  OF  THE   PEOPLE  8i 

The  strolling  players  exerted  a  significant  influence 
upon  the  progress  of  popular  poetry  and  music  through 
the  sacred  plays  which  they  presented.  At  first  (to  the 
middle  of  the  twelfth  century)  the  sacred  comedies,  called 
in  Germany  passion  or  Easter  plays  and  in  France  mys- 
teries, were   presented   by  the  clergy  alone,  and  in  the 


STROLLING  FLAYERS 

(C.    W.    DIETRICH) 


Latin  tongue.  Later  on,  however,  vagrants  began  to 
take  part  in  these  clerical  plays  and  even  to  present 
them  wholly  themselves,  whereby  the  plays  assumed  in- 
evitably a  more  worldly  character. 

But  the  most  important  and  wide-spread  benefits  be- 
stowed by  these  humble  vagrants  upon  the  future  growth 
and  development  of  artistic  music  were  derived  from  their 
interest  in  musical  instruments  and  their  ever-increasing 
dexterity  in  their  use.  With  the  exception  of  the  few 
clerical  organists,  the  strolling  players  were  for  many 
centuries  the  only  class  of  musicians  who  cultivated  the 
practice  of  instrumental  music  and  who  thus  kept  alive 
the  love  of  playing  and  "fiddling,"  either  alone  or  in  con- 
certed groups,  during  the  period  when  vocal  music  was 
dominant  both  in  and  out  of  the  church.     It  was  they 


/TipZik 


82  ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

who  performed  greater  and  more  active  service  than  any 
other  single  class  of  music  lovers  in  preparing  for  the  era 
of  instrumental  composition,  signalised  in  later  centuries 
by  such  artistic  products  as  the  symphonies  of  Beethoven. 

But  besides  these  distinct  classes  of  musicians,  the 
troubadours  and  minnesingers,  meistersingers,  and  stroll- 
ing players,  who  practised  music  in  a  sense  as  a  profes- 
sion, there  existed  still  another  class  of  music  lovers; 
namely,  the  people  themselves.  This,  the  largest  class 
of  all,  not  limited  to  any  country  or  race,  but  common 
to  all  civilised  nations,  sang,  untrammelled  by  theoreti- 
cal rules  or  conventional  regulations,  as  their  natural  in- 
stincts prompted  and  as  the  heart  impelled. 

In  the  history  of  European  music  the  people's  song 
(folk-song)  attained  a  degree  of  significance  second  only 
to  the  ecclesiastic  chant  of  the  Gregorian  era,  and  in  cer- 
tain respects  it  may  even  be  said  to  have  transcended 
the  latter  in  its  bearing  upon  the  general  development  of 
artistic  music.  For  this  was  the  genuine,  intuitive  ex- 
pression of  a  universal  spirit,  which,  in  its  freedom,  was 
in  closer  touch  with  nature  and  nature's  laws  than  any 
carefully  devised  theory  could  be.  In  all  arts,  but  par- 
ticularly in  those  of  emotional  expression,  the  spirit  of 
the  people  always  leads;  and  it  is  not  until  the  analytic 
mind  of  the  scientist  obtains  this  revelation  as  a  basis  of 
research  that  he  can  formulate  correct  theories  and  es- 
tablish the  facts  out  of  which  the  refined  technic  of 
art  is  gradually  evolved.  The  voice  of  Nature  herself 
must  first  speak,  through  the  lips  of  her  ingenuous  and 
uninfluenced  children,  before  the  scientist  can  find  any- 
thing to  interpret,  to  explain,  and  to  develop  into  a  work- 
ing system.  It  was  the  song  of  the  people — not  the  cal- 
culations of  the  Greeks  or  of  the  mediaeval  ecclesiastic 
scholars — that  contained  the  vital  kernel  of  musical  de- 
velopment. And  it  was  not  until  the  people's  melodies 
penetrated  into  the  web  of  ecclesiastic  counterpoint  that 


MUSIC  OF  THE   PEOPLE 


83 


the  leaven  was  provided  which  engendered  the  hfe  of  a 
new  art. 

This  took  place,  not  figuratively  but  actually,  about 
the  end  of  the  fourteenth  century;  for  from  that  time 
until  the  seventeenth  century  the  masters  of  contrapun- 
tal technic  almost  invariably  adopted  some  popular 
melody  as  thematic  basis,  or  leading  thread,  for  their 
masses  and  other  serious  works;  and  almost  every  mass 
of  the  period  has  its  special  designation  according  to 
the  title  of  the  folk-song  upon  or  around  which  it  was 
constructed. 

Whence  these  songs  came  no  one  can  tell.  They 
sprang  from  the  special  conditions  of  the  province  or  race. 
It  was  easy  to  find  a  musical  setting  for  the  good-natured, 
often  profoundly  sentimental  poetic  eflfusions,  or  to  cre- 
ate new  verse  for  a  melody  which  had  become  familiar 
by  frequent  repetition,  and  popular  because  it  was  true. 
The  people  cared  not  for  the  method  of  their  coming 
and  thought  not  of  committing  them  to  permanent  writ- 
ten form,  but  simply  sang  them  generation  after  gener- 
ation until  some  scholar,  attracted  by  their  truth  and 
beauty,  fixed  them  for  posterity  in  the  notation  of  the 
time.  The  following  specimen  of  a  German  love  ditty 
dates  from  the  first  half  of  the  fifteenth  century  and  is 
written  in  diamond-shaped  semibreves  only: 


1-rT 


a 


y: 


=rt: 


^--^^ir 


:ti^ 


'—■d — i — +- 


-te- 


MODERN  VERSION,  ADJUSTED  RHYTHMETICALLY  TO  THE  PROSODY  OF  THE 

VERSE 


84 


ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


One  of  the  oldest  and  most  widely  used  melodies  of 
France  was  the  tune  of  The  Armed  Man  {L'homme  arme). 
It  was  for  a  long  time  the  most  popular  melody  among 
contrapuntal  scholars,  and  it  was  held  to  be  an  indis- 
pensable condition  of  mastership  to  have  written  a  mass 
upon  this  theme.  It  appears  both  in  the  major  and 
minor  mode,  chiefly  in  the  latter,  in  the  masses  of  the 
most  distinguished  masters  of  the  Netherland  school, 
where  it  is  found  most  frequently  in  the  following 
form: 


(L'homme  arme.) 


j(Z.     jt. 


-(2- 


^ 


.|22 


-^2- 


^ 


=1: 


bSizzi: 


-^.,i_^ 1 


I — I \-' 


The  majority  of  French  folk-songs  are  more  sprightly 
than  this  and  exhibit  traits  that  are  characteristic  of  the 
French  chanson  of  the  present  day.  The  following  ap- 
pears in  a  composition  of  Antoine  Busnois  (died  1481). 
It  was  undoubtedly  an  ancient  melody  in  his  time: 


?I3^^ 


(=1= 


=:p4 


^1 


4=t=: 


The    musical    instinct    of   the    people    found    frequent 
stimulus  for  expression  in  the  popular  plays  of  the  Mid- 


MUSIC  OF  THE   PEOPLE 


85 


die  Ages,  a  certain  class  of  which  may  be  regarded  as 
the  remote  but  almost  direct  forerunners  of  the  dra- 
matic forms — oratorio  and  opera — of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury. The  oldest  plays  of  which  record  has  been  pre- 
served are  two  of  French  origin,  somewhat  akin  to  the 
vaudeville,  both  the  text  and  music  of  which  were  com- 
posed by  Adam  de  la  Halle,  of  whom  mention  has  already 
been  made.  The  more  famous  of  these,  called  Robin  et 
Marion,  was  written  by  De  la  Halle  for  the  entertainment 
of  the  court  at  Naples  in  1285.  Its  popularity  was  so 
great  that  for  over  a  century  it  was  constantly  performed, 
and  the  traditions  of  it  are  not  yet  extinct  in  the  hearts 
of  the  peasantry,  who,  at  Bavai,  in  Hainault,  sing  one 
of  the  songs,  Robin  m'aime,  to  this  day.  It  runs  as 
follows : 

(b)         . 


-^4-*-*-*-|-^->^-Fi-'5'-Fg 


-(2- 


*— f 


s=^ 


FiNB. 


Si^l 


•  , 


1=^==1=1= 


(W 


-^         -^ 


-*— f^- 


:t: 


•-• 


zMiz^ 


Da  Capo,al  Fine. 


—I — i — I — |— ^-^ 


Of  the  instruments  in  use  before  and  during  this  period 
of  musical  history  the  most  venerable  was  the  organis- 
trum  (ninth  century).  It  resembled  an  enormous  guitar 
but  was  manipulated  like  a  hurdy-gurdy,  one  player 
turning  the  crank  while  a  second  handled  the  strings. 
Later  its  size  was  reduced,  and  it  appears  thus  in  France 
under  the  names  rubelle  and  symphonic,  and  in  Ger- 
many as  vielle,  or  leyer. 

The  favourite  instruments  of  the  troubadours  and 
minnesingers  were  the  harp  and  the  lute,  the  former  being 
more  common  in  the  north,  while  the  lute,  in  many  varie- 


86 


ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


ties,  has  always  main- 
tained its  popularity  in 
southern  countries.  The 
theorbo,  mandora,  man- 
doline, guitar,  zither,  and 
many  others  are  but  dif- 
ferent forms  of  the  lute, 
whose  origin  is  traced  to 
the  el'eud  of  the  Arabs. 
(See  Chapter  III.) 

The  various  conver- 
gent evolutions  of  the 
queen  of  stringed  in- 
struments, the  violin, 
through  the  three  most 
musical  nations  of  Eu- 
rope (France,  Germany, 
and  Italy)  to  its  ulti- 
mate common  form  in  the  modern  orchestra,  have  been 
shown  in  the  following  comparative  table:  * 


INSTRUMENTAL  MUSICIANS 


FROM    THE    NORTH 


FROM    THE    ORIENT 


In  France  {Britain) 

1.  Crout,  Crwth 

2.  Crotta,  Rotta,  Rote 

3.  Vielle,  Fiddle 


In  Italy 
Ribeca  (Rebek,  Arab.) 
Ribeba,  Ribecchino 
Viola 


Gi 


5.  Violon 


hi, Germany 

Kruth 

Rotte 

Viedel,  Fiedel,  Fid- 
del 

Geige  ("Thigh  bone     Guigua,  Giga 
of  a  goat,"  which 
it  resembled) 

Violine  Violino 


The  wood  instruments  included  the  flute,  the  muse 
(cornamuse,  musette,  bagpipes),  and,  most  important  of 
all,  the  shawm  (German,  schalmey;  French,  chalumeau). 
The  last,  a  pipe  with  reed  mouthpiece,  originated  among 
the  shepherds,  who  constructed  it  in  the  springtime  out 

*  Emil  Naumann,  History  of  Music, 


MUSIC  OF  THE   PEOPLE 


87 


of  strips  of  bark  and  a  stem  of  willow  rind,  pressed  flat, 
as  a  reed.  The  shawm  was  the  progenitor  of  a  very  nu- 
merous class  of  reed  mstruments;  notably,  a  complete 
choir  of  pommers,  and  through  them  the  oboe  and  bassoon 
of  the  modern  orchestra.  The  evolution  of  the  oboe,  like 
that  of  the  violin,  was  influenced  in  no  small  measure 
by  an  instrument  from  the  Orient — the  zamar  of  the 
Arabs. 

In  the  military  music  of  this  period,  use  was  made  of 
the  zamar-oboe,  the  pommers,  trumpets,  and  drums, 
the  last  patterned  closely  after  Oriental  models.  French 
chroniclers  mention  trumpets,  tubas,  clarions,  horns,  cor- 
nets, and  buisines  (trombones).  Undoubtedly,  the  mu- 
sical instruments  of  Europe  were  enriched  in  variety  and 
number  by  the  intermingling  of  peoples  and  the  exchange 
of  their  particular  products  during  the  Crusades. 


W'- 


^■miwm 


MILITARY  INSTRUMENTS  OF  THE  MIDDLE  AGES 


CHAPTER  XI 

RISE    AND    PROGRESS    OF    ARTISTIC    MUSIC. 
EARLIEST  SCHOOLS  OF  COUNTERPOINT 

From  historic  accounts  which  have  been  recently 
gathered  and  pubhshed,  it  appears  certain  that  the  twelfth 
and  thirteenth  centuries,  far  from  being  as  fruitless  as 
was  supposed,  were  a  period  of  ver}^  significant  activity 
in  the  domain  of  ecclesiastic  music  and  were,  apparently, 
very  rich  in  results  and  products. 

The  earliest  school  of  contrapuntal  art  is  called,  in 
distinction  to  later  schools,  the  Old  French  SchooL  It 
flourished  from  the  end  of  the  eleventh  century,  possibly 
a  little  later,  until  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth,  and  in- 
cluded some  of  the  names  already  cited  as  the  direct  suc- 
cessors of  Guido  in  connection  with  the  advances  made 
in  notation  and  in  the  technic  of  melody  combination. 
Hence  it  is  seen  to  represent  the  formative  period  of  con- 
trapuntal art;  it  grew  immediately  out  of  the  first  im- 
portant experiments  of  Guido  and  others,  and  reached 
a  point  in  the  progress  of  music  where  all  the  funda- 
mental principles  were  firmly  defined  and  where  toler- 
ably convincing  evidences  of  successful  and  efficient  work 
upon  the  superstructure  were  richly  supplied.  It  was,  as 
well,  the  exclusive  educational  source,  the  "  facult}^,"  of 
all  succeeding  schools  of  the  north. 

The  most  eminent  off'shoot  of  the  old  French  school 
was  the  Gallo-Belgian,  whose  best  years  were  bounded 
by  the  century  from  1360  to  1460.  Another,  somewhat 
earher,  offshoot  was  the  Old  English  School,  which,  how- 
ever, does  not  appear  to  rank  as  eminently  as  the  former. 

Partly  from  the  old  French  and  partly  from  the  Gallo- 
Belgian  school  proceeded  the  famous  Netherland  School, 
whose  activities  extended  through  the  next  following  cen- 


RISE  AND  PROGRESS  OF  ARTISTIC  MUSIC    89 

tur}^,  from  1460  to  1560.  Earlier  historical  books  have 
accustomed  us  to  regard  this,  the  Dutch  school,  as  the 
first  and  oldest  centre  of  progress  in  composition  and 
musical  practice  in  Christian  Europe  and,  therefore,  in 
the  world;  but  this  erroneous  view  seems  to  have  resulted 
from  the  superior  renown  of  the  Netherland  masters, 
which  naturally  eclipsed  the  glory  of  earlier  periods  until 
the  proofs  of  their  existence  and  the  significance  of  their 
experimental  labours  were  shown  in  the  manuscripts  which 
were  subsequently  discovered. 

Furthermore,  it  was  the  Netherlanders  who  supplied 
all  Europe  with  teachers,  singers,  and  organisers  of  sing- 
ing-schools, and  thus  innocently  propagated  the  belief 
that  they  were  the  prime  source  of  all  musical  learning. 
Especially  strong  was  the  current  which  thus  set  toward 
the  south  of  Europe  and  furnished  Rome  itself,  as  well 
as  other  Italian  cities,  with  the  rich  products  of  northern 
industry  and  musical  thought.  So  persistent  was  this 
emigration  to  the  south  that  after  the  middle  of  the 
sixteenth  century  (about  1560)  the  development  of  artis- 
tic music  was  no  longer  exclusively  carried  on  in  the  Neth- 
erlands, but  ceased  there  almost  altogether,  to  be  contin- 
ued and  prosecuted  with  new  energy  in  Germany  and, 
particularl)^,  in  Italy. 

A  comprehensive  summary  of  the  vital  steps  in  the 
evolution  of  artistic  music,  from  its  earliest  beginnings 
to  the  dawn  of  the  modern  classic  era,  would  present  the 
following  appearance: 

(a)  The  first  crude  at-l  tt     l   u  i-  i         •     i 

■       Hucbald  From    the   ninth   to 

tempts   to  associ-  ^  /-.    •  i       r  a  i       i           i 

,    1-                   Ouido  or  Arezzo  the  eleventh  century- 
ate  melodic  parts   j  •' 

(b)  The  dawn  of  actual  1  ^, ,  y-        i    n  i      i 

,  /  Old  r ranch  School         1070-1370 

contrapuntal  art    J  /       ji 

(c)  Transitional  Gallo-Belgian  School     1370-1470 

(d)  The    most    famous  1 

and  successful  age  I  Netherland  or  Dutch     1460-1560 

of      contrapuntal  [  '   School 

science 


90  ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

(.)     Gradual     migration  \  j^^jj^^  g^j^^^j  154(^1725 

to  the  South  j 

(Brilliant  period  of  Italian  dramatic  music,  1600-1725.) 

The  French  capital,  Paris  (and  specifically,  its  famous 
Cathedral  of  Notre  Dame),  appears  to  have  been  the  cen- 
tre to  which  the  crude  but  obviously  significant  ideas  of 
melody  association  gravitated.  Here  they  were  held  fast, 
subjected  to  systematic  and  persistent  experimentation, 
and  reduced  to  definite  principles,  to  be  conducted  into 
straight  and  certain  lines  of  development.  The  scholars 
who  first  made  it  their  mission  to  labour  upon  this  prob- 
lem were  almost  all  organists  of  Notre  Dame.  The  first 
of  whom  historic  record  has  been  preserved  was  Leonin, 
so  renowned  for  his  skill  at  the  organ  that  he  was  called 
optimus  organista.  The  still  comparatively  imperfect 
structure  of  that  instrument  in  the  eleventh  century,  the 
very  limited  technical  requirements,  and  the  primitive 
character  of  the  music  of  his  day  indicate  that  Leonin's 
fame  as  organist  must  have  rested  upon  grounds  that 
would  appear  incredibly  slight  to  us.  But  orga^iista  is 
sometimes  translated  ''composer."  Moreover,  the  stu- 
dent must  not  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  we  are  still  deal- 
ing with  the  very  infancy  of  music  as  an  art.  Leonin  wrote 
a  book  on  organ  playing,  which  contained  compositions 
by  himself  and  others.  (These  were  not  for  the  organ, 
but  for  vocal  parts,  which  could  be  played  by  the  organ- 
ist just  as  modern  hymn  tunes  are  played.)  His  succes- 
sor at  Notre  Dame  was  Perotin,  called  The  Great.  He 
was  the  author  of  numerous  compositions,  some  of  which 
have  been  preserved. 

From  1 1 40  to  1 1 70  appear  Robert  of  Sabillon,  Pierre 
de  la  Croix  (or  Cruce),  and  Jean  de  Garlande.  These 
are  said  to  have  effected  many  improvements  in  notation 
and  the  art  of  singing,  and  De  Garlande,  the  great  peda- 
gogue of  the  old  French  school,  wrote  a  thorough  and 
scholarly  treatise  on  mensural  m^  sic. 

From  1 170  to  1230  appear  the  t  vo  Francos — Franco  of 
Paris  and  Franco  of  Cologne,  Walte/  Odington  (England), 


RISE  AND  PROGRESS  OF  ARTISTIC  MUSIC    91 


and  Jerome  of  Moravia.  Franco  of  Paris  was  twenty 
years  or  more  older  than  his  German  namesake;  he  wrote 
many  famous  compositions  and  a  treatise  on  mensural 
rh3^thm  which  would  seem  to  establish  his  fame  as  the 
chief  founder  of  the  system  of  musical  rhythm. 

The  last  period  of  the  old  French  school  (1230  to  1370) 
embraces  the  names  of  Phillip  de  Vitry  (end  of  the  thir- 
teenth century),  Jean  de  Muris  (1300-70),  and  Guil- 
laume  de  Machaut  (1284-1369),  who  advanced  the  art 
of  contrapuntal  writing  and  instilled  more  vitality  and 
melodic  freedom  into  the  technic  of  independent  part- 
writing  (see  Chapter  VII).  De  Vitry  and  De  Muris  were 
profound  theorists  and  were  among  the  first  to  recognise 
and  formulate  trustworthy  rules  of  counterpoint  and 
part-writing  in  general.  Machaut  was  a  poet  as  well  as 
a  composer.  For  the  coronation  of  King  Charles  V  he 
wrote  a  mass  which  is  historically  significant  and  con- 
tains, though  still  in  imperfect  and  clumsy  form,  some 
traits  of  real  musical  beauty  such  as  characterise  the 
later  period  of  Des  Pres  and  even  Lasso. 

The  following  extract  from  one  of  Machaut's  composi- 
tions, compared  with  the  organum  of  Hucbald,  gives  a 
fair  conception  of  the  progress  made  in  the  combination 
of  melodic  parts  during  these  first  four  centuries  of  ex- 
ploration and  experiment  in  a  wholly  untried  domain  of 
human  thought.  It  is  transcribed  in  a  somewhat  mod- 
ernised and  more  familiar  notation: 


;^^ 


^ 


^ 


^ 


=3=5 


f^^ 


m 


U- 


JJgl 


\. 


^ 


1  (lii)iin  il'iii^ 


fi^   l\^i^  i^i^R  -i-,^J,^  t^j^jL 


92  ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

The  processes  of  musical  technic  that  were  progres- 
sively active  during  this  period  may  be  thus  briefly  re- 
viewed: The  primitive  two-part  experiments  of  Hue- 
bald  about  the  3^ear  900  were  known  under  the  name 
of  organum,  or  ars  organandi — perhaps,  though  not  cer- 
tainly, because  of  some  connection  between  this  mere 
duplication  of  the  sacred  intonation  in  octaves,  fourths, 
or  fifths,  and  the  operation  of  the  organ,  which  is  known 
to  have  been  in  use  already  at  that  time  and  earlier. 
By  Guido,  a  little  later,  it  was  called  diaphony. 

From  the  beginning  of  the  twelfth  century  the  some- 
what more  elaborate  voice  combination  was  called,  at 
Paris,  discantus  (or  diversus  cantus);  and  about  the  mid- 
dle of  the  thirteenth  century  the  term  contrapunctus 
was  adopted.  These  names  may  be  regarded  as  indicat- 
ing, in  a  general  way,  the  successive  degrees  of  progress 
in  independent  part-writing, 

Hucbald's  organum  and  Guido's  diaphony  were  too 
primitive,  on  account  of  the  preponderance  of  parallel 
movement  and  rhythmic  uniformity  of  the  parts,  to  be 
of  any  value  in  themselves;  their  significance  lies  in  the 
fact  that  they  actually  separated  the  unison  parts  and 
thus  supplied  the  first  step  toward  ultimate  complete  in- 
dependence of  simultaneous  melodic  voices,  for  which  the 
name  polyphony  was  at  length  adopted.  The  process 
of  development  up  to  this  point  and  onward  to  the 
present  may  be  tabulated  in  the  following  manner: 

,  ,    ^  .  -Ill  f  Antiquity     and     early 

(i)  One-part  music s  ox  sxmpic  mtioay,  <       /^i    •    • 

^  '  '^  ^  •"  1^      Christian  ages. 

(2)  Organum    (Hucbald),    chiefly    in   parallel 

parts, 

(3)  Diaphony  (Guido),  partly  oblique  parts, 

(4)  Discantus  (early  Parisian  school),  greater 

independence   both     in    direction    and  \  Mediaeval  age. 
rhythm  of  the  parts, 

(5)  Counterpoint  (other  northern  schools  also), 

a  more  general  term  for  the  constantly 
advancing  technic  of  part  association, 


'  Modern  age. 


RISE  AND  PROGRESS  OF  ARTISTIC  MUSIC    93 

(6)  Polyphony,    perfected     contrapuntal  1    1  Classic  aee 

art,  ' 

(7)  Harmony,  chords,  crystallised  forms 

of  tone  combination, 

(8)  Homophony,   one    supreme    melodic 

part    with    harmonic    accompani- 
ment, 

(9)  Romantic,  Lyric,  and  Dramatic  styles. 

The  origin  and  gradual  evolution  of  contrapuntal  art, 
without  which  all  modern  music  is  wholly  unimaginable, 
may  be  traced  in  this  wise:  To  the  adopted  cantus  firmus, 
or  ecclesiastic  intonation,  a  discant  was  added,  as  higher 
part;  at  first  as  mere  duplication  in  some  perfect  con- 
sonant interval  and  in  plain  notes  of  uniform  value.  (It 
seems  conceivable  that  the  term  punctus  contra  punc- 
tum  may  have  been  applied  even  to  these  incipient  ex- 
periments, inasmuch  as  the  rhythms  were  necessarily 
identical — the  mensural  system  not  yet  having  been  in- 
troduced— so  that  the  product  was  literall}^  note  against 
note  and  nothing  more.)  After  a  while  the  rhythm  of  the 
added  part  was  animated  to  some  degree  by  the  addition 
of  grace-notes  or  embellishments  (melismas),  appropri- 
ately called  fleurettes,  whence  the  designation  contra- 
punctus  floridus.  Probably  the  most  momentous  inno- 
vation was  the  adoption  of  at  least  occasional  contrary 
direction,  in  the  melody  of  the  added  part,  for  it  was 
not  until  this  became  a  recognised  and  even  obligatory 
liberty  that  actual  independence  of  melody  could  be  se- 
cured. To  this  improved  product  the  name  dechant 
(discantus)  or  duplum  was  given,  when  the  composition 
embraced  two  parts  only.  When  increased  to  three  parts 
it  was  called  a  triplum,  and  when  four  parts  were  com- 
bined it  was  known  as  a  quadruplum. 

In  such  larger  combinations  many  different  names  were 
used  to  indicate  the  various  parts,  as  tenor,  contra-tenor, 
motet,  cantus,  bassus,  discantus.  The  tenor  was  always 
that  part  to  which  the  cantus  was  assigned  (from  Latin 
tenere,  to  hold);    it  was  originally  the  lowermost  part. 


94  ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

but  later  became  the  part  next  above  the  bass  (lowest), 
as  it  is  in  the  modern  chorus. 

The  discant,  instead  of  being  written  out  by  mental 
calculation,  is  known  to  have  been  frequently  improvised, 
with  such  graces  or  fleurettes  as  the  singer  was  capable 
of  inventing.  This  was  so  common  a  practice  that  old 
writers  of  that  early  period  distinguished  between  con- 
trapunctus  a  penna  (written)  and  contrapunctus  a  mente 
(improvised  counterpoint). 

It  was  at  this  important  juncture,  when  the  parts 
began  to  assume  greater  independence  both  in  melody 
and,  especially,  in  rhythm,  that  a  method  of  determining 
time-values  became  imperative,  and  the  mensural  sys- 
tem was  devised.  We  have  already  seen  how  this  method 
was  evolved  from  the  neumas,  gradually  enlarged  and 
improved,  until  it  finally  developed  into  a  system  of 
very  great  complexity  and  difficulty.  Later  it  was  sim- 
plified and  clarified  into  its  present  form,  which,  though 
formidable  to  every  beginner,  is  nevertheless  far  more 
consistent,  convenient,  and  perfect  than  the  original 
mensural  notation  ever  was. 

It  is  easy  to  imagine,  and,  indeed,  it  may  be  witnessed 
in  such  manuscript  compositions  as  have  been  preserved 
from  the  days  of  the  old  French  school,  how  the  newly 
discovered  art  of  part  association  progressed  from  one 
stage  of  freedom  to  another;  how  the  art  gradually  gained 
in  fluency  and  fulness;  how  it  slowly  but  surely  advanced 
and  increased  in  ingenuity  and  complexity,  until  composi- 
tions began  to  appear  which  could  claim  some  degree  of 
real  musical  and  harmonic  beauty,  and  not  only  aroused 
the  admiration  of  the  churchmen  of  those  early  da3^s 
but  which  appeal  even  to  our  modern  sense  as  objects 
both  of  interest  and  wonder. 

The  compositions  of  this  period  appear,  as  has  been 
mentioned,  to  have  been  of  four  distinct  kinds:  the 
motette,  rondeau  or  rondellis,  conduit  or  conductus,  and 
cantilenis.     The  most  venerable  of  these  was  the  motette, 


RISE  AND  PROGRESS  OF  ARTISTIC  MUSIC    95 

one  of  the  peculiarities  of  which  was  that  each  of  the 
voices  generall}^  had  its  own  text,  independent  of  the 
others.  It  appears  to  have  been  originally  a  secular  form, 
cultivated  by  the  popular  music  makers,  but  was  adopted 
by  the  writers  of  sacred  music,  with  such  modifications  as 
were  necessary.  During  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth 
centuries  it  was  the  most  popular  form  of  musical  com- 
position in  France,  whence  it  gradually  disappeared,  to 
thrive  all  the  more  vigorously  in  the  Netherlands  and 
also  in  some  parts  of  Italy,  a  century  or  more  later. 

The  rondeau  also  originated  with  the  people  and  re- 
mained always  a  secular  form.  It  had  usually  one  set  of 
words  sung  by  all  the  parts  in  common.  The  form  of 
the  conduit  seems  to  have  been  less  definite  than  that  of 
the  rondeau,  though  but  little  is  known  about  it.  It  was 
generall)^,  though  not  always,  a  vocal  composition. 

From  such  treatises  on  music  theory  as  have  been 
handed  down  to  us,  it  is  apparent  that  the  old  French 
writers  made  sj^stematic  use  of  the  principal  thematic 
devices  known  to  modern  theory,  such  as  imitation, 
double  counterpoint,  and  canon.  That  the  principle  of 
inversion  was  also  familiar  to  them  is  shown  in  the 
falso  bordone,  of  which  such  wide-spread  use  was  made 
for  many  centuries  and  which  seems  to  have  been  vir- 
tually a  succession  of  chords  of  the  sixth  (Chapter  VII). 

Much  has  been  said  of,  and  claimed  for,  the  old  English 
school,  which  is  supposed  to  have  been  established  even 
earlier,  and  to  have  flourished  somewhat  later,  than  that 
of  Paris.  But  historic  testimony  of  conclusive  worth  is 
meagre.  The  wonderful  old  canon,  Sumer  is  i-cumen  in 
(Summer  is  come),  dating  from  the  early  part  of  the 
thirteenth  century,  could  have  emanated  from  no  other 
than  a  master-hand  of  extraordinary  skill;  but  whose 
hand  it  was  cannot  be  shown.  Besides  Walter  Odington, 
one  other  eminent  master  is  mentioned  as  representative 
of  the  old  English  school,  John  Dunstable,  but  he  is  placed 
as  late  as  the  fifteenth  century. 


96 


ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


Of  much  greater  and  more  firmly  established  renown 
was  the  Gallo-Belgian  School,  generally  regarded  as  the 
first  vigorous  offshoot  of  the  old  French  school.  The 
earliest  distinguished  name  encountered  in  the  musical 
histor}^  of  this  region  is  Zeelandia  (about  1330-70).  He 
was  among  the  first  to  regard  the  intervals  of  the  third 
and  sixth  as  more  attractive  than  the  perfect  consonances 
— fourth,  fifth,  and  eighth — and  to  use  the  former  more 
freely. 

The  next  master  was  Vincent  Faugues  (born  141 5), 
whose  masses  became  very  popular  in  Rome.  The  next 
and  most  distinguished  master  of  the  whole  period  was 
Guillaume  Dufay,  supposed  to  have  been  born  in  Hai- 
nault  about  141 5,  though  there  is  much  uncertainty  about 
this  date.  His  fame  seems  to  rest  more  securely  on  his 
achievements  as  theorist  and  teacher  than  upon  his  com- 
positions. His  counterpoint  is  still  imperfect  and  con- 
strained, but  contains  many  cunning  thematic  devices 
and  occasional  passages  of  real  musical  beauty. 


iCyt-jt,    cA^^£^,  -u-J  »^"-^'»-V'- 


H 


S^-t^ 


-^TM- 


^ 


cZc 


9-  _ 


-W- 


P5F 


Other  writers  of  the  period  were  Firmin  Caron  (about 
1420-80);    Regis  or   De    Roi,   Flemish    Koninck,   (about 


RISE  AND  PROGRESS  OF  ARTISTIC  MUSIC    97 

143 5-1485);  and  Antoine  Busnois  (born,  probabl}^  in 
Flanders,  about  1440).  The  last  ranked  almost  equal  to 
Dufay  and  is  known  to  have  introduced  marked  improve- 
ments in  the  treatment  of  the  parts. 


CHAPTER  XII 
THE   DUTCH   SCHOOL  OF  COUNTERPOINT 

The  process  of  technical  development  in  musical 
writing  which  had  its  significant  beginning  among  the 
French  organists  of  Notre  Dame  and  passed  from  them 
to  the  scholars  of  the  Gallo-Belgian  provinces,  was  next 
taken  up  by  the  masters  of  the  Netherland  school.  Here 
the  art  of  contrapuntal  combination  advanced  to  a  very 
high  degree  and  the  technic  of  composition  reached  a 
grade  of  perfection  and  facility  far  beyond  that  exhib- 
ited in  the  da3's  of  Dufay  and  Busnois.  But  it  is  no 
less  true  that  it  did  not  advance  in  a  corresponding  mea- 
sure in  intrinsic  musical  value,  but,  rather,  lost  gradually 
such  natural  power  as  it  had  possessed,  in  exaggerated 
subtleties  of  purely  mathematical  calculation. 

The  student  must  never  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  the 
products  of  these  early  centuries  were  not  music  in  the 
sense  that  modern  art  has  accustomed  us  to  regard  it. 
The  art  of  true  music,  in  the  essentially  elevated  and  re- 
fined sense,  was  not  yet  born.  Its  mission  as  a  reflection 
and  expression  of  human  emotion  was  not  yet  recognised 
or,  at  most,  vaguely  entertained  as  a  remote  possibility. 
The  history  of  music  up  to  the  beginning  of  the  seven- 
teenth century  (that  is,  until  about  three  hundred  years 
ago)  is  the  story  of  manifold  experimentation  with  mys- 
terious problems  of  tone  combination  from  every  con- 
ceivable point  of  attack — a  searching  and  probing  among 
the  possibilities  of  tone  and  its  associations  as  a  new  and 
wholly  undeveloped  medium  of  artistic  creation.  It  was 
the  framing  of  the  body,  so  to  speak,  with  all  its  ana- 

gS 


DUTCH   SCHOOL  OF  COUNTERPOINT      99 

tomic  parts  and  ph3^sical  functions,  in  preparation  for 
the  abode  of  the  spirit  whose  presence  we  now  know  and 
feel  but  which  at  that  time  was  not  yet  conceived. 

To  comprehend  clearly  wherein  all  this  searching  and 
technical  exploitation  consisted,  the  student  must  recall 
the  chief  ph3^sical  factors  of  musical  art — melody,  har- 
mony, rhythm,  and  their  infinite  possibilities  in  forms  of 
co-operation.  The  most  significant  and  salient  trait  of  a 
composition  is  its  melody,  or  tone  line,  and  the  product 
of  composition  is  invariably  a  design  in  which  the  tones 
arrange  themselves  in  lines  which  hold  and  lead  the  hear- 
er's consciousness  from  point  to  point,  thus  providing  a 
tangible  scheme  which  one  can  follow  and  comprehend. 

This  linear  principle  of  tone  combination  is  so  funda- 
mental and  exclusive  that  no  musical  utterance,  no  matter 
how  primitive  or  crude,  can  proceed  from  any  other  nat- 
ural impulse.  It  is  even  seen  in  the  inartistic  but  at  least 
natural  musical  practices  of  the  ancient  and  all  barbaric 
races,  which  are  limited  wholl}^  to  the  element  of  melody, 
or  music  formed  of  one  single  tone-succession.  Of  this 
ph3^sical  propert}^  of  music  the  earliest  scholars  were  fully 
aware.  For  the  first  ten  centuries  of  the  Christian  era 
all  music,  both  ecclesiastic  and  secular,  was  thus  limited 
to  melody;  and  such  systematic  and  scientific  experimen- 
tation as  was  conducted  by  musically  gifted  men  of  that 
era  was  directed  toward  the  perfection  of  the  single  line 
of  tones.  This  is  shown  in  the  intonations  and  chants 
of  the  church  and  the  folk-songs  of  the  people.  Then 
came,  as  we  have  seen,  the  momentous  experiments  with 
two  and  more  tone  lines  at  once,  and  the  era  of  artistic 
(contrapuntal)  tone  association  was  inaugurated.  From 
that  time  on,  for  over  five  hundred  years,  the  only  ob- 
ject of  music  writers  appears  to  have  been  to  perfect  and 
elaborate  this  linear  quality  of  music,  to  create  more  and 
more  intricate  and  interesting  line-designs  of  tone  se- 
quence. Consequently,  the  music  of  these  early  centuries 
exhibits  cunning  imitations,  sequences,  inversions,  and  all 


loo        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

the  devices  now  included  under  the  head  of  motive  de- 
velopment or  thematic  manipulation;  and  from  epoch  to 
epoch  these  devices  increase  and  multiply  their  intrica- 
cies until  the  most  amazing  examples  of  voice  leading 
and  voice  combination  result— sentences,  and  even  entire 


FROM  THE   "MARGARITA   PHILOSOPHICA" 

(of  GEORGIUS  REISCHIUS,   IS03) 


masses,  in  which  there  is  not  a  single  tone  that  does  not 
form  a  significant  link  in  some  chain  or  line  of  thematic 
sequence.  That  the  complex  of  tone,  as  a  whole,  should 
result  in  a  reasonably  harmonious  product  (that  is,  should 
sound  well)  was  the  natural  and  by  no  means  partic- 
ularly difficult  consequence  of  respecting  the  laws  of 
consonant  intervals  and,  as  we  should  state  to-day,  the 
laws  of  chord  combination. 


DUTCH   SCHOOL  OF  COUNTERPOINT     loi 


But  this  is  practicall}^  all  that  music  was  from  the 
eleventh  up  to  the  seventeenth  century — the  solving  of 
a  tone  problem. 

It  is  true,  however,  that  we  find  occasionally  infusions 
of  true  musical  expression,  as  the  possibility  of  the  spirit 
dawned  upon  the  writer,  as  the  purely  artificial  and  math- 
ematical quality  of  the  music  began  gradually  to  fit  itself 
for  its  ultimate  purpose  and  to  become  a  pliant  means  to 
a  great  and  noble  end.  This  era  was  the  inevitable  school- 
day  period  through  which  the  art  had  to  pass  in  order 
to  discover  and  develop  its  power,  to  test  its  strength,  and 
to  come  into  conscious  possession  of  resources  that  were 
ultimately  to  know  no  limit.  This  is  its  significance  in 
music  history,  and  from  this  point  of  view  its  products 
must  be  judged,  with  gratitude  and  reverence,  but  also 
with  intelligence. 

The  first  eminent  name  in  the  historj'  of  the  Netherland 
or  Dutch  school  is  Johannes  Okeghem  (or  Ockenheim), 
called  the  "  patriarch  of  counterpoint  and  canonic  art." 
He  was  born  about  1425,  in  Hainault,  and  died  1512,  at 
Tours.  He  was,  properly  speaking,  a  Belgian,  and  he 
constitutes  a  connecting  link  between  the  Belgian  and 
Dutch  schools. 

The  following  specimen  of  Okeghem's  writing  is  a  sec- 
ular song  for  three  voices: 

3. 


■  1  ■  r  I  I     » 


^ 


^ 


•a-  "■ 


ITT 


^^ 


3-^cr.  j~^\=  -^^^q^Kr'  -g 


■\ 


^^ 


m 


I02        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC   HISTORY 

Almost  exactly  contemporaneous  with  Okeghem  was 
the  scarcely  less  renowned  Hollander  Jakob  Hobrecht  (or 
Obrecht)  who  was  born  1430,  at  Utrecht,  on  the  Rhine, 
and  died  in  1506,  in  Antwerp.  Antonius  Brumel,  a  pupil 
of  Okeghem's  (born  about  1460),  manifests  a  recognition 
of  chord  formation  and  a  leaning  toward  the  more  com- 
pact harmonic  style. 

The  most  eminent  master  of  the  Dutch  school,  and 
also  a  pupil  of  Okeghem,  was  Josquin  des  Pres.  He  was 
born  about  1450,  in  Hainault,  and  died  1521.  He  may 
justly  be  ranked  among  the  conspicuous  figures  in  music 
history  and  as  a  distinguished  promoter  of  perfect  contra- 
puntal technic.  Though  charged  with  having  carried 
the  mathematical  devices  of  melodic  association  to  an 
exaggerated  extreme,  it  is,  nevertheless,  true  that  every 
phrase  Josquin  des  Pres  wrote,  be  it  simple  or  elaborate, 
displays  evidence  of  true  musical  genius.  Josquin  ap- 
peared in  Rome  in  1484  as  singer  in  the  papal  chapel. 
After  the  death  of  Pope  Sixtus  IV  he  accepted  a  call  from 
the  Duke  of  Este,  and  went  to  Ferrara;  later  to  Paris, 
as  premier  chantre  du  roi  of  Louis  XII.  After  a  few  years 
there  he  returned  to  his  native  city  as  provost  of  the 
cathedral,  which  office  he  held  until  his  death. 

The  following  is  from  one  of  Josquin's  masses,  Pange 
lingua,  for  four  parts: 


^ 


'g-   0    .-:-^c|f^ 


J  ^1.1 .4- 


-5--  —^      j 


-^^ 


^ 


^^ 


:^r L 


DUTCH   SCHOOL  OF  COUNTERPOINT     103 


m 


± 


I 


^^ 


.Hji  jJl'^ 


? 


^^t^^ 


:3^ 


^^ 


^ 


^^ 


de^t/n- 


'f-utj^, 


Every  movement  in  the  above  sentence,  written  four 
centuries  ago,  may  be  analysed  in  terms  of  modern  har- 
mony and  tonahty.  Close  scrutiny  of  each  separate  voice 
will  reveal  to  the  observant  student  the  masterly  manner 
in  which  the  four  independent  tone  lines  are  interwoven, 
and  how  strictly  each  tone  drops  into  place  in  logical  or 
thematic  agreement  with  the  figures  traced  by  the  other 
parts.  There  is  a  growing  feeling  for  harmonic  (chord) 
effects  exhibited  here,  and  in  others  of  Josquin's  works 
this  is  still  more  noticeable.  The  regularity  of  structure 
as  shown  in  the  clear-cut  succession  of  uniform  (four- 
measure)  phrases,  is  not  accidental. 

One  of  Josquin's  most  famous  pupils  was  Nicolas  Gom- 
bert,  born  in  Bruges,  in  1495.  In  1528  he  is  encountered 
in  Madrid.  His  compositions  are  characterised  by  ease, 
smoothness,  and  euphony,  in  which  traits  they  excel  even 
the  writings  of  his  great  master. 

Another  pupil  of  Josquin  was  Jakob  Arkadelt,  born 
about  1 514,  in  Holland,  and  one  of  the  earliest  writers  of 
the  madrigal.  The  following  brief  extract  (the  first  period 
of  Arkadelt's  famous  Ave  Maria)  is  a  striking  illustration 
of  the  progress  made  in  the  harmonic  style: 


I04        ESSENTIALS  IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


A-^  kt. 


af-ojd<^     Am.--  ■>**•  /e'»uut»M^<j    7a.- 


^■'  JL/  qi 


^ 


^ 


^=^ 


S 


j-1  =f 


^ 


frc'i  1  iilfi'ih  1 11. A  -il>j^p 


a.- t^ 


/^6, 


^<^cU£;t. 


s 


i-i  ^^  ri 


J        4- 


5 


S 


:fe=5= 


5 


J:^ 


There  was  not  the  least  disposition  on  the  part  of  these 
old  masters  to  relinquish  their  pursuit  of  mathematical, 
contrapuntal  feats;  on  the  contrary,  the  devices  of  canon 
and  fugue,  while  growing  less  constrained  and  mechanical, 
rather  increased  in  intricacy.  But,  while  the  necessity  of 
this  discipline  and  the  resulting  power  and  dignity  of  the 
music  were  strictly  defended,  the  masters  seem  to  have 
become  equally  sensible  of  the  need  of  contrast.  Hence, 
we  perceive  the  increasing  tendency  to  lead  the  voices 
together,  in  compact  chord  forms,  from  time  to  time,  in- 
stead of  giving  to  each  voice  its  wholly  independent  share 
in  the  unravelling  and  developing  of  the  thematic  motives. 

It  is  very  singular  that  in  this  era  of  preponderantly 
mathematical  music,  experiments  of  a  purely  artificial, 
descriptive  character  should  have  become  popular.  Pos- 
sibly this  application  of  tones  to  the  illustration  of  phys- 
ical phenomena  (battles,  country  fairs,  forest  sounds,  and 
the  like)  was  regarded  also  as  a  musical  problem,  dia- 
metrically opposed  to  the  purposes  of  counterpoint. 
One  of  Josquin's  pupils,  Clement  Jannequin  (born  about 
I495)>  was  especially  noted  for  such  tone  pictures,  writ- 
ten for  voices — not  for  instruments,  as  is  all  descriptive 
music  of  to-day.  Among  his  compositions  were  the  Bat- 
tle of  Marignano  and  the  Paris  Fair. 


DUTCH  SCHOOL  OF  COUNTERPOINT     105 

Another  noted  master  of  this  school  was  Benedict  Dux 
(or  Ducis),  born  1480  at  Bruges,  Hved  in  151 5  in  Ant- 
werp, and  died  about  1540.  His  eight-part  motettes  are 
remarkable  for  their  dignity  and  beauty. 

In  the  year  1502  the  art  of  printing  music  with  de- 
tachable cast-metal  types  was  invented  by  Ottavio  Pe- 
trucci  (da  Fossombrone).  The  immense  significance  of 
this  invention,  which  exerted  a  revolutionising  influence 
upon  the  whole  range  of  musical  culture,  can  be  appre- 
ciated only  by  considering  the  serious  limitations  involved 
in  the  necessary  preparation  of  copies  of  music  works 
by  hand. 

The  first  book  which  proceeded  from  Petrucci's  work- 
shop was  a  collection  of  thirty-three  motettes  for  three 
parts,  by  Josquin,  Anton  Brumel,  Loyset  Compere,  and 
others.  His  invention  found  many  advocates,  and  in  a 
short  time  a  number  of  music-printing  establishments 
sprang  into  existence:  at  Mayence  (15 12),  Nuremberg, 
Munich  (1540),  Leipsic,  Venice  (1536),  Paris  (1520),  and 
Rome  (1523). 


CHAPTER  XIII 
THE  INFLUENCE  OF  THE   DUTCH   SCHOOL 

Thus  far  the  Netherlanders  had  ruled  supreme  in 
music  and  no  other  nation  had  produced  masters  whose 
influence  was  as  great  and  wide-spread  as  theirs,  or  who 
could  rival  them  in  the  significance  of  their  achievements. 

Probably  the  only  country  which  exhibited  important 
activity  at  the  same  time  was  Germany,  where  two  men 
of  great  and  just  renown  are  encountered  as  early  as  the 
days  of  Okeghem^namely,  Heinrich  Isaak  and  Hein- 
rich  Finck.  Isaak  (born  in  1450)  surpassed  all  of  his 
contemporaries  in  the  composition  and  arrangement  of 
secular  songs.  The  historian  Forkel  says  of  him  that 
"  he  manifested  a  clearness  of  melody,  correctness  and 
beauty  of  rhythm,  and  a  freedom  of  harmony  suggestive 
of  the  cultured  art  of  the  eighteenth  century."  Finck 
(born  about  1445)  was  also  so  popular  that  many  of  his 
songs  were  republished  as  late  as  1536.* 

In  France  and  Spam,  also,  musicians  of  eminence  ap- 
peared; and  Italy,  particularly,  was  beginning  to  reas- 
sert her  musical  power  and  preparing  to  become  during 
the  succeeding  epoch  the  new  centre  of  music  history. 

But  this  shifting  of  the  centre  of  musical  activity  was 
due,  after  all,  almost  entirely  to  the  steady  emigration  of 
the  northern  masters  to  these  southern  countries.     The 

*Hermann  Finck,  author  of  Practica  musica  (1556),  thus  refers  to  his  great- 
uncle,  Heinrich  Finck:  "Extant  melodias,  in  quibus  magna  artis  perfectio  est, 
compositse  ab  Henrico  Finckio;  cuius  ingenium  in  adolescentia  in  Polonia 
excultum  est,  et  postea  Regia  liberalitate  ornatum  est."  (Melodies  are  ex- 
tant, composed  by  Heinrich  Finck,  which  show  great  skill;  as  a  boy  he  was 
educated  in  Poland,  later  by  royal  favor  (liberality)  he  was  enabled  to  con- 
tinue his  training.)      (See  illustration  on  page  107.) 

106 


INFLUENCE  OF  THE   DUTCH   SCHOOL      107 

roots  of  the  vigorous  musical  growth  which  spread  its 
branches  over  all  Europe  were  firmly  embedded  in  the 
soil  of  Belgium  and  Holland;  from  this  mighty  centre  all 
the  lines  of  musical  progress  took  their  start,  and  all  that 
music  has  since  become  may  be  traced  to  this  source. 

The  Netherlanders  did  not  stay  at  home.     Their  rov- 
ing disposition,  probably  stimulated  by  the  strong  sea- 


TITLE  PAGE  TO  A  WORK  BY  HERMANN  FINCK 

("PRACTICA    MUSICA,"    I556) 


faring  activity  of  that  age  and  people,  the  overproduc- 
tion of  fertile  musical  minds,  and  the  natural  demand 
for  their  efficient  services  throughout  Catholic  Christen- 
dom— these  and  other  impulses  led  many  of  them  away 
from  home,  and  thus  they  became  the  cause  of  the  dis- 
semination of  their  knowledge  all  over  musical  Europe. 
This  migratory  tendency  is  observable  as  far  back  as 
Okeghem  himself,  who  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  ca- 
reer in  Paris;  and  also  in  Josquin  des  Pres,  who  was  ac- 
tive in  Rome,  Ferrara,  and  Paris.  Clement  Jannequin, 
though  a  native  of  Flanders  and  a  pupil  of  Josquin,  spent 


io8 


ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


his  life  in  France.  Gombert  chose  Madrid  for  his  artis- 
tic home  and  obviously  greatly  influenced  the  methods  of 
Spanish  and  Portuguese  composers.  Alexander  Agricola, 
a  Belgian  and  pupil  of  Okeghem,  is  encountered  in  Spain. 

The  great  teacher  and 
theorist  Johannes  Tinc- 
toris  went  from  the 
Netherlands  to  Naples. 
And  so  the  emigration 
continued  and  increased 
until  the  Netherlands 
were  depleted  of  their 
musical  master  minds 
and  gradually  lost  their 
historic  importance. 

Among  those  who 
wandered  south  to  Italy 
was  the  eminent  Adrian 
Willaert.  He  was  born 
at  Bruges,  in  Flanders, 
in  1480,  studied  law  in 
Paris,  went  to  Rome 
about  1516,  shortly 
afterward  to  Ferrara, 
and  finally  to  Venice, 
where  he  remained  as  chapelmaster  in  St.  Mark's  Cathe- 
dral until  his  death,  in  1562.  Willaert  is  accredited  with 
being  the  first  to  use  a  larger  number  of  parts,  namely, 
six,  seven,  and  even  more,  and  he  is  supposed  to  be  the 
originator  of  the  double  chorus.  In  his  compositions  a 
decided  advance  in  tonal  beauty  is  discernible,  owing 
partly  to  his  more  extensive  employment  of  the  plain 
chord  style.  He  contributed  to  the  rapidly  growing  ten- 
dency to  simplify  the  choice  and  treatment  of  harmonic 
material  and  to  cultivate  a  more  refined  manner  of  ar- 
tistic secular  composition.  Willaert's  most  significant  re- 
lation to  the  history  of  music    consists  probably  in  the 


ADRIAN  WILLAERT 

AFTER  AN  ENGRAVING  BY  ANTONIO  GARDANO 
(VENICE,  1559) 


INFLUENCE  OF  THE   DUTCH   SCHOOL      109 

fact  that  he  was  the  originator,  or,  at  least,  the  most 
powerful  promoter  of  the  madrigal — a  secular  form  which 
he  exalted  to  a  truly  artistic  rank  about  1530  and  which 
rapidly  attained  to  a  high  degree  of  popularity.  Prior  to 
this  the  most  prevalent  form  of  composition  was  the  sa- 
cred motette,  which,  growing  out  of  the  religious  chant, 
was  severe  in  character,  strictly  thematic  and  contra- 
puntal, and  provided  the  scholar  the  opportunity  to  dis- 
pla}^  his  learning  and  skill  in  canonic  and  imitatory  voice 
combination.  In  consequence  of  this  rigidit}^  of  char- 
acter the  motette  became  distasteful  to  the  Italians, 
who  then,  as  now,  evinced  that  predilection  for  pure, 
smooth,  unconstrained  melody  which  has  become  the  na- 
tional physiognomy  of  their  music. 

The  madrigal  was  intended  and  destined  to  satisfy 
the  desire  for  a  style  of  vocal  music  which,  both  in  words 
and  melody,  was  of  a  less  scholastic  and  more  popular 
type.  It  was,  originally,  a  simple  shepherd's  song  and 
took  its  name  from  mandra,  a  flock,  and  mandriale,  a 
shepherd.  After  a  while  it  lost  this  primitive  character- 
istic and  pursued  a  more  general  development.  The  text, 
usually  secular,  consisted  of  twelve  or  fifteen  lines  of  un- 
equal length  set,  most  commonly,  for  five  voices.  The 
composer's  aim  therein  was  not,  as  hitherto,  the  scholarly 
manipulation  of  independent  contrapuntal  parts,  but  to 
reflect  the  sentiment  of  the  text  as  accurately  as  possible. 
The  adoption  of  some  foreign  theme,  or  cantus  firmus, 
was  completely  abandoned,  and  the  imitations  and  other 
thematic  details  were  treated  with  much  freedom. 

These  qualities  of  the  madrigal  led,  necessarih^,  to  a  less 
severe  application  of  all  the  established  musical  factors; 
chromatic  progressions  became  very  common;  both  the 
rhythm  and  the  melody  were  more  free  and  striking; 
novel  and  ingenious  harmonic  movements  were  invented; 
descriptive  passages  were  introduced;  and  greater  vari- 
ety in  the  whole  method  of  thought  and  execution  was 
the  inevitable  result.     For  more  than  two  centuries  the 


no        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


madrigal  was  cultivated  and  produced  in  incredible  num- 
bers by  all  the  masters  of  note;  it  became  universally 
popular  and  exerted  a  most  important  influence  upon 
the  development  of  a  freer  and  more  attractive  style  of 
composition. 

Besides  the  madrigal,  the  secular  music  of  this  period 
embraced  a  number  of  other  popular  forms,  chiefly  of 
Italian  origin:  the  frottola,  a  short,  merry  street  song; 
the  vilanella,  a  peasant's  song;  the  maggiolata  (May 
song);  ballata  (dance  song);  barcaruola,  a  boat  song,  or 
barcarole. 

The  following  fragment  from  one  of  Willaert's  four- 
part  vocal  sentences  will  give  a  general  idea  of  his  mode 
of  composition.  It  also  illustrates  the  extent  to  which 
the  harmonic  style  had  already  begun  to  supersede  that 
of  the  intricate  contrapuntal  era: 


^ 


it 


^S 


"i^-pit^U 


^ 


t7 


m 


4^  -^ 


-s- 


U^' 


u 


tVt^ 


^£ 


jjJJTU.     j 


^ 


=^=j= 


e 


^ 


gF^=^'1  i  i  ^ 


4=F^ 


Tf^=^ 


^i 


^JJi' 


g  J  ^ 


^^^ 


rf'cMajiU 


-^^ 


__ci ^ ca_ 


^^^ 


ij- 


ks. 


^ 


^ 


Two   of  Willaert's    most    celebrated    pupils   were    the 
great  Italian  theorist  Giuseppe  Zarlino  of  Cremona  and 


INFLUENCE  OF  THE  DUTCH  SCHOOL 


III 


the  composer  Cyprian  De  Rore;  the  latter  was  born  in 
1516,  in  Mecheln,  died  1565  at  Parma.  De  Rore  wrote  al- 
most exclusively  works  of  secular  character  and  is  noted 
as  one  of  the  first  to  adopt  and  cultivate  the  chromatic 
progression.  This  was  as  great  an  innovation  as  the 
harmonic  style  introduced  in  such  an  original  and  strik- 
ing manner  by  Richard  Wagner  a  half  century  ago,  or 
by  Richard  Strauss  still  more  recently,  and  might  have 
led  to  a  far  more  speedy  development  of  harmonic  free- 
dom had  De  Rore  possessed  the  genius  to  follow  it  up, 
or  his  age  been  more  ready  to  receive  it.  An  example  of 
the  astonishing  effects  he  produced  is  seen  in  the  follow- 
ing passage  from  one  of  his  four-part  vocal   motettes. 


C^Ry. 


/3 


aui^    t»tn.cA</ 


Wt^ 


(33   9-    ^■ 


^^ 


^ 


SP 


^^ 


^m 


?itr'ltiJ?i  l^^-Kh^^-. 


m'  ■  II 


SEl''^  \\\VA 


^«.»  - 


^l^-     i^^^    I 


y^ 


* 


^/6 


a-t^e,. 


m 


f-    -^  y^ 


s 


1^ 

With  all  its  novelty  and  daring,  it  still  betrays  plainly 
the  awkwardness  and  lack  of  experience  in  the  use  of 
many  musical  factors,  and  helps  to  demonstrate  how  re- 


112        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


mote  these  old  masters,  with  all  their  contrapuntal  cun- 
ning, were  from  apprehending  those  qualities  of  music 
which  more  nearly  concern  the  heart  than  the  brain. 

(The  modern  student  is  apt  to  be  seriously  misled  by  the 
time-values  used  in  these  older  works  and  to  miscon- 
ceive their  intended  effect.     It  is  certain  that  the  ordinary 

beat  of  that  time  was  ex- 
pressed by  a  much  larger 
note  than  nowadays,  and, 
therefore,  the  half  notes,  or 
even  whole  notes,  in  these 
examples  should  be  sung, 
or  played,  as  if  they  were 
modern  quarter  notes,  in 
moderate  tempo.) 

Other  contemporaries  of 
Willaert  were:  Costanzo 
Festa,  the  first  Italian  com- 
poser of  fame;  Philipp  Ver- 
delot;  Jakob  van  Boes; 
Jakob  Berchem;  Claude 
Goudimel,  the  teacher  of  Palestrina  and  founder  of  an  emi- 
nent school  of  Italian  music;  and  Clement  (non  Papa). 
In  France  and  Spain  music  also  flourished  to  some 
degree,  and  in  Germany  a  school  arose  to  which  a  later 
chapter  will  be  devoted.  In  England,  about  the  begin- 
ning of  the  succeeding  century  (1600),  a  number  of  noted 
madrigalists  appeared. 

The  music  historians,  theorists,  and  scholars  of  this 
era  were:  Johannes  Tinctoris,  born  1446  in  Brabant,  died 
151 1 ;  Franchinus  Gafurius  (or  Gafor),  born  1451  near 
Milan,  died  1522 — one  of  the  first  truly  distinguished 
masters  of  musical  theory;  Heinrich  Glareanus  (Gla- 
rean),*  born  1488  in  Switzerland,  died  1563,  the  author 
of  a  curious  theory  of  twelve  modes  (the  Glarean  modes), 

*  Though  commonly  so  known,  Glarean's  real  name  was  Heinrich  Loris,  of 
Glarus. 


JANS   PIETERS   SWEELINCK 


INFLUENCE  OF  THE   DUTCH   SCHOOL      113 

not  identical  with  our  twelve  ke3^s  but  derived  from 
Greek  theory;  Giuseppe  Zarlino,  born  15 17  near  Venice, 
died  1590,  the  greatest  musical  scholar  of  this  whole 
period.  As  composer  he  was  accurate  and  scrupulous  but 
dry;  as  theorist  he  created  an  epoch  in  musical  science. 
Of  supreme  significance  for  coming  ages  was  the  system 
of  equalised  temperament,  which  Zarlino  was  the  first  to 
propose  and  which  was  soon  to  supersede  the  system  of 
perfect  fifths,  according  to  which  all  instruments  were 
then  tuned. 

In  Spain  a  distinguished  theorist  appeared  in  the  per- 
son of  Francisco  Salinas,  born  1512  at  Burgos,  died  1590 
in  Salamanca.  In  Germany  there  were  Adam  de  Fulda 
(end  of  the  fifteenth  century),  Martin  Agricola  (1486- 
1556),  Heinrich  Finck,  and  many  others  famous  as  theo- 
rists and  historians.  In  Ital}^  conservatories  and  schools 
of  art  were  early  established,  and  their  influence  upon 
musical  culture  was  most  beneficial.  The  oldest  musical 
conservatory  was  founded  in  1537,  at  Naples,  and  was 
known  as  the  "  Conservatorio  Maria  di  Loretto." 

Among  the  Dutch  masters  who  preferred  to  spend  their 
lives  in  their  own  country  was  Jans  Pieters  Sweelinck, 
born  in  Holland  about  1562,  died  in  1621  at  Amsterdam. 
He  was  esteemed  the  greatest  organ  player  of  his  day 
and  an  instrumental  composer  of  merit.  He  manifested 
great  interest  in  the  culture  of  popular  instrumental 
music  and  was,  therefore,  a  friend  of  the  strolling  players 
and  minstrels,  for  whose  use  he  published,  in  1602,  a  New 
Zither  Book. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
ORLANDO  DI   LASSO 

The  student  now  arrives  at  the  consideration  of  the 
life  and  works  of  a  Belgian  master  who  ranks  with  the 
greatest  musical  geniuses  of  this  whole  epoch  and  of 
music  history  in  general — Orlandus  Lassus.  He  is  also 
known  by  his  original  Flemish  name  of  Roland  von 
Lattre,  called  by  the  French  Delattre  and  by  the  Italians 
and  historians  generally  Orlando  di  Lasso.  He  was  born 
in  1520  at  Mons,  in  Hainault  (one  year  before  the  death 
of  Josquin  and  six  years  after  Palestrina's  birth).  At 
the  age  of  sixteen  he  left  his  fatherland  and  went  with 
the  viceroy  of  Sicily  to  Milan  and  Palermo.  At  eighteen 
he  arrived  in  Naples,  where  he  remained  about  two  years. 
After  many  wanderings  (including  a  trip  to  England) 
he  finally  accepted,  in  1557,  an  invitation  of  the  Bavarian 
duke  Albert  V  to  make  Munich  his  permanent  home. 
Lasso  remained  in  that  city,  in  the  capacity  of  chief  chapel- 
master,  until  his  death,  in  1594. 

During  this  long  period  he  made  two  journeys  to  Paris, 
declining  with  tact  the  most  tempting  inducements  of  the 
French  monarch,  Charles  IX,  to  remain  there.  He  was 
buried  in  Munich  by  the  Franciscans,  and  to  his  memory 
there  has  been  erected  a  monument  bearing  the  inscrip- 
tion: Hie  ille  est  Lassus,  lassum  quirecreabat  orbem.  (This 
is  that  weary  one  who  refreshed  the  weary  world.) 

Lasso  was  probably  the  most  prolific  of  all  composers. 
His  complete  works — two  thousand  three  hundred  and 
thirty-seven  in  number — are  preserved  in  Munich,  the 
greater  part  unpublished.     His  fifty-one  masses  are  all 

114 


ORLANDO  DI   LASSO 


115 


Psal 


saims 


characterised  by  that  majestic  dignity  peculiar  to  the 
master's  whole  style.  Besides  these,  he  wrote  five  hun- 
dred and  sixteen  motettes  for  from  two  to  twelve  voices, 
one  hundred  and  eighty  magnificats,  four  hundred  and 
twenty-nine  sacred  songs,  and  almost  numberless  eccle- 
siastic compositions,  including  vespers,  litanies,  hymns, 
psalms,  requiems,  passions,  and  stabat  maters.  Special 
mention  must  be  made  of  the  Seven  Penitential 
(Nos.  6,  32,  38,  51,102,  130, 
143),  inseparably  associated 
with  the  name  of  Lasso,  and 
which  never  found  more  im- 
pressive setting  at  the  hands 
of  any  master. 

It  is  noteworthy  that  a 
composer  who  could  con- 
ceive and  reflect  the  feelings 
of  the  penitent  sinner  in 
such  a  sincere  and  touching 
manner  should  find  equally 
fitting  expression  for  the 
gayest  humour,  as  witnessed 
in  his  German  songs.  Aside 
from  these  intentionally 
humorous  eflTusions,  Lasso  also  bequeathed  a  large  number 
of  lyric  secular  compositions  to  the  world,  among  which 
are  fifty-nine  canzonettas,  three  hundred  and  seventy- 
one  French  chansons,  and  two  hundred  and  thirty-three 
madrigals. 

Lasso  excelled  his  predecessors  in  versatility,  imagina- 
tion, and  rapidity  of  thought  and  execution.  He  did  not 
appear  to  possess  the  power  to  break  away  completely 
from  the  rigid  forms  of  contrapuntal  artifice  so  revered 
in  the  days  of  his  fathers,  and  he  was,  therefore,  not 
destined  to  enter,  himself,  the  realm  of  free  and  uncon- 
strained tone  art.  But  it  is  quite  as  certain  that  he 
educed  effects  and  discovered  resources  that  were  before 


ORLANDO   Dl   LASSO 


ii6        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

unknown,  and  that  the  impressiveness  of  his  music  was 
equalled  only  in  the  works  of  his  great  contemporary, 
Palestrina. 

His  freedom  in  changes  of  key  and  the  smoothness  and 
energy  of  his  voice  movements  indicate  absolute  mastery 
of  the  rules  of  the  old  school.  His  counterpoint  is  mostly 
more  florid  than  that  of  older  writers,  which  is  one  of 
many  indications  that  Lasso  was  momentousl}^  active  in 
that  gradual  transformation  from  the  contrapuntal  to  the 
harmonic  point  of  view  of  which  we  have  already  spoken. 

Originally,  the  principle  of  melody,  or  the  single  tone 
line,  constituted  the  sole  conception  of  music,  and  the 
art  of  composition  consisted  in  so  interweaving  two  or 
more  such  melodic  lines  as  to  produce  a  harmonious  re- 
sult. In  other  words,  the  harmonious  tone  bodies,  or 
chords,  appeared  as  a  consequence  only.  But,  the  power 
of  these  chord  effects  once  having  been  observed  and  ap- 
preciated, their  appearance  became  more  and  more  fre- 
quent, until  it  is  evident  that  they,  the  chords,  influence 
the  movement  of  the  several  parts  and  finally  become 
no  longer  a  consequence  but  a  cause.  The  harmonic 
bodies  and  their  successions  become  the  basis  upon  which 
the  leading  of  the  voice-parts  is  determined.  This,  it 
will  be  seen,  signified  a  complete  change  of  conception, 
and  it  not  only  influenced  the  manners  and  thought  of 
the  composer  but  actually  inaugurated  that  wholly  new 
epoch  of  writing  which  reaches  down  to  our  day.  That 
the  rigidly  linear  contrapuntal  style  was  beginning  to 
yield  to  the  more  compact  and  powerful  harmonic  style 
is  one  of  the  most  striking  manifestations  in  Lasso's 
writings. 

For  this  same  reason  Lasso's  treatment  of  many  of  the 
scholastic  devices  is  notably  free;  for  instance,  his  imi- 
tations do  not  extend  any  farther  than  it  is  perfectly 
convenient  for  him  to  carry  them;  and  that  inexorable 
logic  of  voice  movement  which  marks  the  technic  of 
Okeghem,  Josquin,  and  other  old  masters,  is  abandoned 


ORLANDO  DI   LASSO 


117 


by  Lasso,  or  treated  with  a  freedom,  or  even  indifference, 
that  proclaims  the  spirit  of  revolution.  In  this  very  re- 
spect Lasso  is  regarded  by  many  as  inferior  to  Palestrina, 
whose  contrapuntal  technic  was  as  strict  and  severely 
logical  as  that  of  any  of  his  predecessors  could  have  de- 
sired. To  venture  a  general  comparison,  the  relation  of 
Lasso  to  Palestrina  was  somewhat  parallel  to  that  of 
Handel  to  Bach  in  the  eighteenth  century,  and  of  Schu- 
bert to  Beethoven  in  the  nineteenth  century. 

The  example  which   follows  is  from  a  sentence,  Ado- 
ramus  te,  Christe,  of  Orlando  Lasso: 


^^ 


3 


^ 


3=fe??5 


^m 


t 


-    a 


^ 


m 


-i4 


^^■ 


ta 


iSi 


W=^ 


^m 


ta 


-^H^^ 


f 


=1-111 


1,-5-  •* 


^ 


-—  l^-'l   J 


^ 


J   J-- 


^m 


s^  -^ 


m 


^ 


^g 


^ 


ii8        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

Other  Netherland  composers  who  emigrated  to  Ger- 
many were  Jakob  Vaet,  Christian  Hollander,  Philipp  de 
Monte. 

The  epoch  of  the  Netherlanders  practically  closes  with 
Lasso.  During  the  foregoing  period  of  two  centuries, 
over  three  hundred  more  or  less  distinguished  composers 
went  forth  from  this  great  school  of  the  north;  and  the 
art  of  music,  which  it  had  so  well  developed  and  brought 
to  so  high  a  degree  of  scholastic  perfection,  began  to  take 
root  in  other  countries  of  Europe,  especially  in  Germany 
and  Italy,  and  to  form  an  essential  part  of  their  national 
civilisation. 

A  significant  feature  of  the  history  of  this  musical 
epoch,  destined  to  change  the  character  and  affect  the 
subsequent  evolution  of  the  art,  was  the  process  of  secu- 
larisation gradually  making  its  way  into  and  through  the 
music  of  the  church.  The  madrigal,  which  was  originally 
a  secular  form  of  the  motette,  was  one  of  the  evidences 
of  this  movement;  and  it  asserted  itself  as  a  perma- 
nent and  universally  recognised  style  of  popular  art,  be- 
cause it  was  the  outcome  of  a  legitimate  and  wholesome 
evolution  of  one  of  the  established  sacred  forms  of  music. 

But  this  secularising  process  was  going  on  and  extend- 
ing its  subtle  influence  within  the  church  itself  in  the 
very  forms  that  were  created  for  the  purposes  of  religious 
ceremonial.  The  old  habit  of  introducing  folk-songs  and 
fragments  of  popular  melody  into  masses,  motettes,  and 
other  sacred  works  as  a  thematic  basis  assumed  in  time 
such  proportions,  and  was  effected  in  some  cases  in  so 
shameless  a  manner,  that  the  voice  of  the  clergy,  bent 
upon  preserving  the  purity  of  ecclesiastic  usages,  was 
loudly  raised  against  what  was  considered  a  sinful  abuse; 
and  this  growing  protest  is  given,  by  many  historians,  as 
one  of  the  chief  impulses  which  led  to  the  recognition  of 
Palestrina's  genius. 

It  was  an  inevitable  movement.  The  genius  of  music 
could  not  be  confined  to  the  church.     Its  true  beauty, 


ORLANDO  DI   LASSO  119 

its  specific  mission,  its  most  direct  appeal  to  universal 
human  emotion  were  certain  to  be  more  quickly  and  fully 
apprehended  by  the  people  at  large  than  by  the  ascetic 
churchmen.  Among  the  people,  music  encountered  less 
restraint  and  could  unfold  its  natural  beauty  and  power 
more  freely  than  within  the  rigid  bounds  of  church  dis- 
cipline and  censorship,  albeit  the  church  had  provided, 
and  was  the  only  source  that  could  provide,  the  neces- 
sary opportunity  for  its  technical  and  scientific  develop- 
ment. 

But  now  this  technical  task  was  amply  concluded;  the 
musical  mission  of  the  church  practically  fulfilled.  In 
fact,  this  very  course  of  scholastic  experimentation  and 
perfection  had  aroused  the  soul  of  music,  had  revealed 
its  inherent  emotional  potentiality,  and  had  pointed  out 
the  track  that  it  was  henceforth  bound  to  pursue.  The 
church  could  no  longer  hold  music  as  its  own,  and  the 
struggle  of  the  art  to  find  its  proper  atmosphere  and  abid- 
ing-place, in  the  heart  of  the  people,  gave  rise  to  the  secu- 
larising tendency  of  which  we  have  spoken.  This  ten- 
dency was,  furthermore,  promoted  by  the  general  new 
birth  and  universal  advance  in  social  and  civil  culture; 
stimulated  greatly,  no  doubt,  by  the  geographic  change 
of  centre  from  the  north  to  the  south;  promoted  also  by 
the  great  rehgious  Reformation,  which,  during  the  life- 
time of  Lasso  and  Palestrina,  had  already  acquired  a 
mighty  momentum  and  was  beginning  to  influence  music 
precisely  as  it  had  transformed  many  religious  views  and 
habits. 

Lasso  lived  during  this  significant  musical  epoch  and 
contributed  much  to  the  juvenating  process.  The  same 
is  true,  to  a  greater  or  lesser  degree,  of  Willaert  and  of 
other  masters  of  the  closing  era  of  the  Dutch  school. 
At  the  same  time,  however,  the  church  found  a  brilliant 
champion  in  the  person  of  Palestrina,  who,  while  appar- 
ently rendering  great  service  to  ecclesiastic  music  by  re- 
establishing the  purity  and  dignity  of  its  character,  no 


I20        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC   HISTORY 

less  certainly  wrought  benefit  to  secular  music  to  a  prob- 
ably equal  extent.  His  musical  genius  was  truly  great, 
wholesome,  and  natural;  and  his  aims  were  as  noble  and 
sincere  as  they  were  serious  and  truthful.  Therefore  he 
actually  purified  both  the  ecclesiastic  and  secular  styles 
and  unified  them  in  a  form  of  artistic  expression  that 
was  at  once  scholastic  and  emotional. 


CHAPTER  XV 
PIERLUIGI   DA   PALESTRINA 

ITALIAN    SCHOOLS        ENGLAND 

In  the  north  of  Europe  the  art  of  music  had  been  ac- 
quiring form,  vigour,  and  organic  unity;  but  in  the  south, 
chiefly  in  Italy,  the  land  of  poetic  and  artistic  ideals,  it 
was  to  blossom  and  bear  fruit  of  unexpected  beauty  and 
splendour.  Just  as  Rome  was  become  the  centre  of  all 
Catholic  Christendom,  so  now  the  Roman  school  of  music 
took  the  lead  of  all  others.  Foremost  among  the  names 
which  made  the  Roman  school  so  famous  stands  that 
of  Palestrina,  undoubtedly  the  greatest  master  of  the  six- 
teenth century,  and,  up  to  that  time,  the  greatest  in  all 
music  history. 

Giovanni  Pierluigi  took  his  historic  name  from  the  vil- 
lage of  his  birth,  Palestrina.  His  family  name  was  Sante. 
(His  Latin  designation  was  Johannes  Petrus  Aloysius 
Praenestinus.)  In  Italy  he  was  known  as  Giovanni  Pier- 
luigi da  Palestrina.  According  to  the  latest  authorities 
he  was  born  in  15 14  and  was,  therefore,  six  years  older 
than  Lasso.  In  1544  he  was  organist  and  chapelmaster  of 
the  cathedral  in  his  native  city;  in  1551  he  was  called  to 
succeed  Arkadelt  as  master  of  the  boy  choir  and  chapel- 
master in  the  Vatican  Basilica,  St.  Peter's,  at  Rome. 

His  first  work,  printed  three  years  later,  was  a  volume 
of  masses  for  four  and  five  voices,  and  the  immediate  rec- 
ognition of  their  superior  merit  won  him  an  appointment 
in  the  convention  of  singers  of  the  papal  church.  But 
Pope  Paul  IV,  on  his  accession  to  the  pontificate  in  the 
following  year,  felt  himself  compelled  for  various  reasons 


122        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


(chiefly  the  fact  that  Palestrina  was  married)  to  dismiss 
him  from  the  convention.  During  the  same  year,  how- 
ever, he  became  chapelmaster  at  St.  John's;  in  1561  he 
assumed  the  same  office  at  Santa  Maria  Maggiore;  and 
in  1 571  he  was  finally  reinstated  in  his  former  office  at 
the  Vatican.  Palestrina  died  in  1594  (the  year  of  Lasso's 
death)  and  was  buried  before  the 
altar  of  Simon  and  Judas  in  St. 
Peter's  Cathedral. 

Like  all  those   who  are   destined 
to  become  great  masters,  Palestrina, 
before  his  genius  was  matured,  was 
for   a   time   a  close   follower  of  his 
predecessors.      But    he    was    gifted 
with   vastly  richer   talent,   a    much 
broader  and  more  comprehensive  in- 
telligence,  and   musical  instincts  of 
primary  power  and   range.     There- 
fore,   he    soon    passed    beyond    the 
bounds  which   the   art  of  composi- 
tion had  then  reached,  and  conceived  a  series  of  master- 
works    that    were    and    still    continue   to    be   objects    of 
admiration  and  veneration. 

The  justifiable  objection  that  had  been  raised  by  many 
of  the  clergy  to  certain  abuses  that  had  crept  into  the 
music  of  the  church,  and  the  agitation  in  favour  of  a 
refinement  and,  particularly,  a  simplification  of  its  char- 
acter, reached  a  climax  during  the  early  part  of  Pales- 
trina's  career.  An  effort  was  made  to  remove  the  so- 
called  figural  or  florid  style  of  counterpoint  from  the 
church,  because  of  the  difficulties  which  attended  both 
its  performance  and  its  comprehension,  and  to  return  to 
the  simple  old  choral  chant,  as  the  more  appropriate  and 
effective  method  of  musical  worship.  A  decision  becom- 
ing imperative,  it  was  placed  indirectly  in  Palestrina's 
hands  to  demonstrate  the  feasibility  of  a  partial  return 
to  the  simpler  style  and  to  effect  a  compromise  which 


PALESTRINA 


PIERLUIGI   DA   PALESTRINA 


123 


would  rescue  the  scholastic  style  from  its  threatened  sup- 
pression. Historic  accounts  conflict,  but  it  seems  prob- 
able that  Palestrina  was  commissioned  (in  1565)  to  write 
a  mass  which  might  serve  as  a  permanent  model  of  eccle- 
siastic music.  It  is,  however,  not  unlikely  that  Pales- 
trina was  personally  inter- 
ested in  the  controversy  and 
that  his  genius  foresaw  the 
desired  change.  He  himself 
was  repelled  by  many  traits 
of  the  constantly  advancing 
contrapuntal  methods,  and 
he  knew  it  would  be  neces- 
sary, in  time,  to  stem  the 
tide  of  "modernism,"  which 
was  just  as  active  and 
threatening  then  as  in  so 
many  subsequent  eras  of 
art.  And  his  peculiar  mu- 
sical conception  and  true 
genius  gave  him  the  power 
to  meet  the  emergency  as 
probably  no  other  living 
musician  could  have  done. 
Palestrina  wrote  not  only 
one  mass,  as  suggested,  but 
three,  for  six  voices,  the 
third  of  which  aroused  ad- 
miration and  enthusiastic  recognition  far  beyond  the  ex- 
pectation of  its  modest  author.  In  this  third  mass,  those 
emotions  which  dominate  in  the  Catholic  ceremonial  found 
most  fervent  and  appropriate  utterance.  Through  the 
simplicity  and  directness  of  the  means  employed,  and  the 
no  less  supreme  treatment  of  traditional  contrapuntal  art, 
this  mass  fulfilled  all  the  conditions  of  an  impressive  and 
truly  beautiful  ecclesiastic  style.  Palestrina  dedicated 
this  mass,  in  a  spirit  of  gratitude,  to  the  memory  of  his 


PALESTRINA'S   BIRTHPLACE 


124        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

former  patron,  Pope  Marcellus  II,  whence  it  received  its 
historic  title,  Missa  PapcE  Marcelli. 

Palestrina's  compositions,  while  not  nearly  so  numerous 
as  those  of  Lasso,  represent  the  results  of  a  long  and  dili- 
gent life  devoted  almost  exclusively  to  the  service  of  eccle- 
siastic music.  They  include  fourteen  books  of  masses  for 
four,  five,  and  six  voices;  one  book  of  eight-voice  masses; 
many  books  of  motettes,  ofFertorios,  litanies,  hymns, 
magnificats,  lamentations;  and  two  books  of  madrigals. 

The  first  collection  of  masses  (1554)  manifest  all  the 
most  brilliant  traits  of  old-school  counterpoint  without 
suggesting  striking  originality.  The  improperia  (1559) 
are  far  more  significant  and  bear  witness  to  Palestrina's 
attitude  toward  the  chord  or  harmonic  basis,  which  he 
uses  with  somewhat  greater  moderation,  but  also  with 
greater  insight  and  impressiveness,  than  did  Lasso. 

Next  in  order  of  merit  come  the  lamentations,  hymns, 
and  a  stabat  mater.  It  is  in  his  masses,  however,  that 
Palestrina  appears  in  the  full  glory  of  his  genius.  Here 
are  found  that  seriousness  and  dignity,  that  simplicity 
coupled  with  unlimited  command  of  contrapuntal  re- 
sources, which  confirm  his  rank  as  the  greatest  master  of 
musical  art  who  had  ever  lived,  and  one  of  the  few  monu- 
mental figures  in  the  entire  range  of  music  history. 

Palestrina  lived  to  see  his  works  everywhere  recognised 
and  prized,  and  to  hear  the  style  which  he  had  created 
called  after  his  own  name:  Stile  alia  Palestrina.  It  is 
a  significant  confirmation  of  his  true  and  enduring  great- 
ness that  after  more  than  three  centuries  of  uninterrupted 
advance  in  musical  art,  and  in  the  face  of  the  rich  and 
resourceful  music  of  modern  days,  the  world  cannot  and 
does  not  deny  this  master  the  most  genuine  admiration. 
Some  peculiarities  of  his  technic  —  the  stern  diatonic 
spirit  of  his  melodic  progressions,  the  frequent  direct  suc- 
cession of  fundamental  triads  in  stepwise  progression,  the 
rigid  (though  singularly  original  and  effective)  fashion  of 
his  rhythm — sound  somewhat  hard  and  strange  to  mod- 


PIERLUIGI   DA  PALESTRINA 


I2S 


ern  ears;  but  the  oftener  we  hear  any  of  his  works  and 
the  farther  we  penetrate  into  their  innermost  qualities 
and  appreciate  the  ever^'where-prevalent,  marvellous  har- 
mon}^  between  idea,  sentiment,  and  medium  of  expression, 
the  more  are  we  impressed  with  their  lofty  purity  and 
natural  power. 

It  is  by  no  means  eas)^  to  choose  an  example  of  Pales- 
trina's  writing  which  will  give  even  a  faint  impression 
of  the  beauty  and  grandeur  of  his  style.  Fortunately,  so 
many  of  his  compositions  are  now  accessible  in  printed 
form  that  the  reader  can  easily  obtain  many  different 
specimens  of  his  music.  The  following  is  a  brief  extract 
from  his  Iste  confessor: 


"TT 


I    ^T  K-T^"'" 


4.^-1^ 


m 


^^ 


We  have  seen  how  the  Netherlanders  migrated  to  the 
south  and  became  causal  in  establishing  a  chain  of  schools 
of  composition  in  Italy,  where  the  next  momentous  steps 
in  the  progress  and  development  of  the  art  were  to  be 


126        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

taken.  The  first  of  these  schools  was  the  old  Neapoli- 
tan founded  by  Johannes  Tinctoris.  The  next  was  the 
old  Venetian  school  established  by  Adrian  Willaert. 
The  most  eminent  of  Willaert's  numerous  pupils  was 
Andrea  Gabrieli  (the  elder),  born  1510,  of  an  old  Italian 
famil}^.  In  1536  he  was  admitted  as  singer  to  the 
choir  of  St.  Mark's,  became  second  organist  there  in 
1566,  and  was  commissioned  in  1574  to  write  a  festival 
work  in  honour  of  King  Henry  HI  of  France.  He  ac- 
quitted himself  of  his  charge  by  composing  two  cantatas, 
for  eight  and  twelve  parts,  which  aroused  great  admira- 
tion by  the  richness  of  their  harmonies. 

Andrea  GabrieH  extended  the  double-chorus  style,  for 
which  his  teacher  was  famed,  to  that  of  the  triple-chorus 
in  many  of  his  works.  He  died  in  1586.  Giovanni 
Gabrieli  (the  younger,  1 557-1613)  was  born  at  Venice. 
In  1585  he  became  first  organist  at  St.  Mark's.  In 
1609,  Heinrich  Schiitz,  who  became  subsequently  one  of 
the  greatest  German  tone-masters,  crossed  the  Alps  to 
study  with  the  younger  Gabrieli.  The  association  of  vo- 
cal music  with  instrumental  accompaniment  was  greatly 
promoted  by  Gabrieli,  with  whom  this  union  became  a 
distinctive  style  of  composition. 

More  eminent  than  the  Gabrielis  was  Claudio  Merulo 
(i  533-1604),  an  organist  of  extraordinary  skill  and  genius. 
The  former  limited  themselves  chiefly  to  a  mere  tran- 
scription of  vocal  pieces  (canzone)  for  the  organ,  but 
Merulo  added  florid  passages  and  free  interludes  between 
the  choral  members. 

Other  distinguished  Venetian  masters  were  Giovanni 
della  Croce,  Baldassaro  Donati  and  Giovanni  Gastoldi. 

Palestrina  devoted  much  of  his  energy  to  teaching, 
and  was  practically  the  founder  of  the  Italian  school  of 
composition  at  Rome.  Possibly  the  honour  is  due  to 
Goudimel,  the  teacher  of  Palestrina  and  others,  though 
historically  the  old  Roman  school  is  inseparably  connected 
with  Palestrina's  name. 


PIERLUIGI   DA  PALESTRINA  127 

Contemporaries  of  Palestrina  were  Costanzo  Festa, 
Domenico  Ferrabosco,  Giovanni  Animuccia,  all  pupils  of 
Goudimel;  Ludovico  da  Vittoria;  Luca  Marenzio  (1550- 
99,  almost  without  a  rival  as  madrigalist);  and  the 
famous  Giovanni  Nanini  (i  540-1607),  the  founder  of  the 
most  distinguished  Roman  school,  called  the  Younger 
Roman  (that  of  Goudimel  being  known  as  the  Older). 

Out  of  this  Younger  Roman  School  proceeded:  Ber- 
nardino Nanini  (the  younger  brother  of  the  founder, 
Giovanni,  who  conducted  the  school  after  the  death  of 
the  latter) ;  Giacomo  Carissimi  (one  of  the  chief  promoters 
of  the  oratorio);  Gregorio  Allegri;  Arcangelo  Corelli 
(the  famous  violinist  and  composer);  Benedetto  Marcello; 
and  the  renowned  Domenico  Scarlatti  (the  younger). 

About  1700  an  offshoot  of  the  Roman  school  took  root 
at  Naples.  The  above-named  Carissimi  (1604-74)  was 
the  teacher  of  Alessandro  Scarlatti  (the  elder,  the  father 
of  Domenico);  and  this  elder  Scarlatti  was  the  teacher 
of  the  three  organisers  of  the  famous  Young  Neapolitan 
School — Francesco  Durante,  Leonardo  Leo,  and  Fran- 
cesco Feo. 

In  England,  the  days  of  Queen  Elizabeth  appear  to 
have  been  a  period  of  considerable  musical  distinction 
and  productivity.  The  most  noted  contrapuntalists  were 
Thomas  Tallis  (died  1585)  and  his  pupil  William  Byrd 
(about  1538-1623),  both  of  whom  were  profound  harmo- 
nists— the  latter  a  famous  composer  for  the  virginal  (or 
spinet),  a  forerunner  of  the  pianoforte,  which  was  very 
popular  in  England.  A  pupil  of  Byrd  was  Thomas  Mor- 
ley,  composer  of  secular  songs,  madrigals,  canzonettas, 
ballads,  and  airs. 

Other  English  composers  of  this  period  were  John 
Dowland  (born  1562),  Thomas  Weelkes,  John  Ward, 
John  Bennett,  Orlando  Gibbons,  and  John  Hilton.  Of 
more  than  passing  popularity  was  John  Bull  (about  1563- 
1628),  organist,  virginalist,  and  a  prolific  composer. 

In  France,  nothing  of  historic  interest  took  place  in 


128        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

music  from  the  momentous  days  of  the  early  Notre 
Dame  organists,  until  the  brilliant  period  of  dramatic 
activity  inaugurated  about  1650  by  Lully. 

In  Germany,  on  the  contrary,  significant  events  suc- 
ceeded each  other  with  increasing  frequency,  tending  in 
the  direction  of  the  complete  supremacy  in  music  history 
which  that  nation  was  subsequently  to  assert. 

Summary  of  the  achievements  of  ecclesiastic  musical 
art  during  the  first  sixteen  centuries  of  the  Christian 
era: 

Epoch  I 
Ambrose.     Gregory 
The  preparation  of  the  soil. 

Epoch  II 
Hucbald.     Guido 
A  momentous  step  is  taken. 

Transitional 

Franco  of  Paris.     Franco  of  Cologne.     Adam  de  la  Halle. 
De  Vitry.     De  Muris 

The  struggle  with  the  consequence  of  this  step. 

Epoch  III 

Dufay.     Okeghem.     Josquin  des  Pres.     Willaert.     Lasso. 

Palestrina 

The  gradual  and  ultimate  realisation  of  the  results  of 
which  this  step  gave  promise. 

Subsequent  Epochs 

The  progressive  stages  of  secularisation  and  populari- 
sation of  the  art  of  music  down  to  the  present  day. 


PIERLUIGI   DA   PALESTRINA 


129 


1425-1512. 

1445- 
1450. 


Johannes  Okeghem. 
Heinrich  Finck. 
Heinrich  Isaak. 


I45c^i52i. 

Josquin  des  Pres. 

I4SS- 

■85. 

Wars  of  the  Roses 
(House  of  York 
and  House  of 
Lancaster). 

1475- 

■1564. 

Michael  Angelo. 

1470. 

Sir  Thomas  Mal- 
lory's  Morte  d' 
Arthur. 

1480. 

Adrian  Willaert. 

1483- 

-1520. 

Raphael. 

I49c^ 

■1536. 

William  Tyndale 
(Translator  of 
the  Bible). 

1492. 

Jakob  Arkadelt. 

1492. 

Columbus  voyaged 
to  the  New 
World. 

1510. 

Andrea  Gabrieli. 

1 5 14-1594. 

Palestrina. 

1513- 

Balboa  sees  the  Pa- 

1520. 

Orlando  di  Lasso. 

cific  from  the 
heights  at  Pan- 
ama. 

1551- 

Palestrina    succeeds 
Arkadelt  at  Rome. 

1551. 

Nicholas  Udall's 
Ralph  Royster- 
Doyster. 

1557- 

Lassus   goes    to   Mu- 
nich. 

1554- 

■86. 

Sir  Philip  Sidney. 

1562. 

Jan  Pieters  Sweelinck 
born. 

1558- 

■1603. 

Queen  Elizabeth  of 
England. 

1563- 

Willaert  at  St.  Mark's 
(Venice). 

1564- 

■1616. 

William  Shake- 
speare. 

1565. 

Cyprian  de  Rore  died. 

1573- 

-1637. 

Ben  Jonson. 

1585  ic). 

Hawkins,    Raleigh, 

Sir       Francis 

Drake. 

1590. 

Edmund    Spenser's 

Faerie  Queene. 

1594- 

Death  of  Lasso  and 
Palestrina. 

1597- 

Francis  Bacon's 
first  ten  Essays. 

1621. 

Death  of  Sweelinck. 

1620. 

Coming      of      the 

Mayflower. 

CHAPTER  XVI 

THE  MUSIC  OF  THE   PROTESTANT  CHURCH 
THE  GERMAN  CHORALE 

It  is  universally  conceded  that  all  of  the  arts  of  the 
Christian  era,  and  especially  music,  owe  much  to  the 
Roman  Church;  and  it  is  not  denied  that  the  Protestant 
Church  rather  impeded  than  furthered  their  development. 
But  this  is  scarcely  true  of  music;  for  the  Reformation 
and  its  consequences  prepared  a  soil  for  this  very  art  out 
of  which  it  was  to  draw  new  vigour,  and  that  at  the  mo- 
ment when  its  trend,  in  CathoHc  environment,  was  in  the 
direction  of  a  new  growth  which  Protestant  conditions 
were  calculated  to  foster  most  effectually. 

The  significance  of  the  Reformation  in  musical  history 
is  found  in  the  fact  that  it  led  to  the  affiliation  of  both 
sacred  and  popular  elements;  that  it  thus  brought  the 
higher  phases  of  music  nearer  to  the  people  themselves, 
as  a  whole,  and  prepared  music  for  that  technically  sim- 
pler and  more  direct  emotional  expression  through  which 
it  was  to  attain  its  greatest  power  and  develop  its  proper 
spirit. 

The  Reformation,  which  wrought  so  many  changes,  also 
demanded  a  wholly  different  mode  of  musical  practice. 
The  music  of  contrapuntally  interwoven  parts,  which 
reached  such  artistic  perfection  in  the  Catholic  Church, 
was  repudiated  in  favour  of  a  simple,  one-voice  melodic 
style,  externally  similar  to  the  early,  unadorned  chants 
and  intonations  of  the  old  church  but  of  an  entirely  dif- 
ferent, more  popular  character. 

The  masses  and  other  settings  of  the  liturgy,  sung  by 

130 


MUSIC  OF  THE   PROTESTANT  CHURCH     131 

clergy  and  trained  choirs,  were  displaced  by  the  chorale 
and  sung  by  the  congregation  in  unison.  This  was  in 
some  respects  a  backward  step  that  would  seem  to  threaten 
the  real  progress  of  the  art,  especially  in  regard  to  rhythm, 
which,  in  the  austere  regularity  and  heavy  duple  measure 
of  the  chorale,  was  apparently  even  less  vital  than  the 
still  essentially  monotonous  rhythmic  pace  of  scholastic 
counterpoint.  But  this  very  quality  proclaimed  the  vig- 
our of  the  chorale;  and  the  particular  manner  of  its 
application  (unlike  the  unmeasured  recitative  of  the 
Gregorian  chant)  gradually  infused  very  wholesome  ani- 
mation into  the  music.  This  brought  it  home  to  the 
heart  and  normal  habit  of  the  people  and  contributed 
most  powerfully  to  the  breaking  of  the  rhythmic  bonds 
in  which  all  Catholic  music  was  rigidly  held  and  which 
probably  no  other  influence  could  ever  have  succeeded  in 
removing. 

It  was  this  rhythmic  bondage  that  constituted  the  real 
barrier  to  further  advance  in  ecclesiastic  music.  The 
comparison  of  Palestrina  with  Mozart  or  Beethoven  re- 
veals nothing  more  vital  or  striking  than  the  difference 
in  their  rhythmic  treatment.  This  rhythmic  change,  com- 
bined with  the  increase  in  suhjectiveness  and  emotional 
spirit,  constitutes  the  whole  difference  between  the  music  of 
the  sixteenth  century  and  that  of  our  day.  The  musical 
mission  of  the  German  chorale  seems  to  have  been  to 
initiate    this   transformation    of  the    rhythmic    element. 

The  origin  of  the  German  chorale  is  ascribed  to  three 
different  sources: 

First,  to  the  old  hymns  and  chants  of  the  Latin  Church, 
upon  which  it  was  natural  for  the  new  church  to  draw. 
The  changes  to  which  these  venerable  melodies  were  sub- 
jected chiefly  concerned  the  form,  which  was  modified 
to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  new  and  more  popular 
methods  of  singing.  During  the  first  century  the  rhythm 
of  the  chorale  was  much  more  lively,  diversified,  and  syn- 
copated than  later,  when,  for  good  reasons,  it  was  found 


132        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

desirable  to  adopt  that  heavy,  dignified,  regular  pulse  that 
characterises  the  German  chorale  to  the  present  day. 

Second,  to  the  German  sacred  songs  of  earlier  days, 
which  were  of  a  far  more  popular  type  than  those  of  other 
countries.  It  should  not  be  assumed  that  the  people 
had  never  sung  in  the  German  tongue  before  the  Refor- 
mation, or  that  Luther  was  the  creator  of  German  ecclesi- 


'Bttcblettt. 

I  TENOR! 


TITLE-PAGE  OF  THE  WITTEMBERG   "SACRED   SONG   BOOK" 
(TENOR  PART),  1524 

astic  song.  As  early  as  the  ninth  century  such  hymns 
and  melodies  existed,  and  man}^  of  a  later  date  (twelfth 
century)  have  been  preserved.  The  thirteenth  century, 
particularly,  is  noted  for  a  profusion  of  German  songs 
to  the  Virgin,  some  of  which  were  subsequently  carried 
over  into  the  Lutheran  service — of  course,  with  modified 
text,  to  conform  to  the  dogmas  and  spirit  of  the  new 
church. 

The  third  and  most  important  of  the  sources  of  Prot- 
estant church  music  were  the  secular  songs  of  earlier  days, 
from  which  legacy  of  the  minnesingers  and  the  music- 
loving  populace  the  most  stirring  and  beautiful  melodies 
were  derived.     These  were  remodelled  into   appropriate 


MUSIC  OF  THE   PROTESTANT  CHURCH     133 

forms  for  the  new  purpose.  The  oldest  hymn-books  of  the 
Reformed  Church  (the  Wittemherg  and  the  Walther,  both 
of  1524)  contain  two  folk-melodies,  and  numberless  ex- 
amples illustrate  this  natural  appropriation  of  German 
and  even  French  popular  songs  by  the  new  church. 
These,  because  of  their  more  familiar  form,  rhythm,  and 
melody,  supplied  the  Lutherans  with  material  more  con- 
genial and  better  suited  to  the  use  of  the  congregation, 
in  unison  song,  than  the  style  of  Roman  ecclesiastic  mu- 
sic could  ever  have  become. 


^  nee    ju^-y^  ^  ^  '***'  '"'i^*^*' 


77a*  t%-Ai:^  QctC  vui£f,'cla4  a'sMX <x£&u;t^ 


Thus  the  music  of  the  Protestant  Church  became,  in  the 
highest  sense,  sacred  popular  song. 

The  use  of  popular  melodies  in  scholastic  forms  for 
church  music  had  long  been  in  vogue;  for  instance,  the 
song,  Uhomme  arme  (Chapter  X).  The  difference  was 
that  the  older  masters  utilised  the  folk-melody  merely  as  a 
thematic  basis,  or  cantus  firmus,  and  so  wreathed  the 
other  parts  in  cunning  contrapuntal  forms  about  this  that 
the  folk-song,  as  such,  was  wholly  unrecognisable.  Where- 
as, in  the  Reformed  Church,  the  secular  melody  was  re- 
tained in  its  original  simple  form  and  adopted  as  air  or 
tune,  at  first  in  the  tenor,  according  to  old  usage,  but  soon 
transferred  to  the  soprano  and  sung,  with  plain  harmonic 
accompaniment,  by  the  whole  congregation. 

But,  besides  this  practice  of  borrowing  material  for  its 
music,  the  church  stimulated  a  new  agent,  that  of  original 
creation.  Thus,  the  Reformed  Church  soon  began  to 
compose  its  own  chorale  melodies,  still  more  accurately 


134        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

adjusted  to  the  new  spirit  and  methods;  in  fact,  as  the 
intimate  expression  of  this  inspiration. 

History  names  Martin  Luther  himself  in  this  connec- 
tion and  has  accredited  him  with  a  large  number  of  orig- 
inal chorales.  Much  has  been  written  for  and  against 
the  general  impression  that -Luther  was  a  musician  of 
unusual  endowment  and  a  skilful  composer.  The  truth 
probably  is  that  he  was  a  musical  layman  (amateur) 
who  possessed  very  accurate  knowledge  of  the  theory  of 
the  art  and  of  the  works  and  writers  of  his  time;  that 
he  was  a  lover  of  music  and  very  likely  not  without 
much  natural  talent  for  it.  He  always  found  time  for 
the  study  and  practice  of  an  art  which  afforded  him 
great  enjoyment  and  in  which  he  recognised  a  powerful 
auxiliary  in  the  upbuilding  of  a  more  popular  form  of 
religious  worship.  Luther  was  born  in  Thuringia,  No- 
vember lO,  1483,  and  was  noted,  as  a  boy,  for  his  fine 
voice.  During  his  childhood  he  studied  music  diligently 
and  became  an  expert  player  of  the  lute  and  the  flute.  In 
the  monastery  he  became  acquainted  with  the  polyphonic 
masterworks  of  his  church  (then  the  Roman  Catholic), 
and  he  made  it  his  business  to  study  them  thoroughly  and 
to  increase  his  knowledge  of  the  scholastic  side  of  the  art. 
The  habit  of  musical  study  was  kept  up  all  his  life,  and 
nothing  delighted  him  more  than  to  gather  his  musical 
friends  and  colleagues  together  and  hold  regular  or  im- 
provised choral  meetings  for  practice  and  recreation.  His 
veneration  for  music  was  so  great  that  he  regarded  it  as 
nothing  less  than  divine  in  origin  and  nature.  As  far  as 
his  own  activity  in  the  composition  of  melodies  for  the 
Reformed  Church  is  concerned,  it  is  more  than  likelj^  that 
the  pious  faith  of  his  followers  placed  much  more  to  his 
credit  than  can  be  verified. 

In  point  of  fact,  history  is  altogether  wanting  in  abso- 
lute proof  that  any  single  chorale  melody  flowed  from 
Luther's  pen.  He  himself  never  claimed  the  authorship 
of  a  single  air.     At  the  same  time  it  is  reasonable  to  sup- 


MUSIC  OF  THE   PROTESTANT  CHURCH     135 


pose  that  so  highly  gifted  a  nature,  with  so  keen  a  love 
for  music,  with  so  thorough  a  knowledge  of  its  theory 
and  so  intimate  an  acquaintance  with  the  best  works 
extant,  should  have  been  able  to  conceive  a  simple  cho- 
rale melody.  It  is  also  true  that  many  melodies  ascribed 
to  Luther  have  not  been  traced  with  certainty  to  any 
other  writer.  Luther  has  been  persistently  accredited 
with  the  authorship  of  one  of  the  mightiest  chorales, 
Ein  feste  Burg,  the  grandest  and  most  famous  of  all 
Protestant  melodies,  one  which  has  not  yet  lost  one  whit 
of  its  thrilling  grandeur  and  has  been  used  numberless 
times  as  the  theme  of  elaborate  compositions  by  subse- 
quent writers  to  the  ver)^  present  day;  but  it  is  now 
proven  with  almost  final  certainty  to  have  been  written 
by  his  friend  Johann  Walther  in  1524. 


oj 


f 


*  CC^'  JU-^Jt  /jciAO 


^ 


llH       1    1^    ^1     Lj  J^^'^    JJeJI'':^^ 


VaJ      i*0. 


!,.&.  3 


4M>»-C IC^     ■ <^«-»-«.4l*>».        Q^^ 


From  a  long  list  of  more  or  less  musically  gifted  men 
who  contributed  original  chorale  melodies  to  the  new 
church  service  during  the  first  half  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, the  most  important  were  Hans  Kugelmann,  Philip 
Melanchthon,  Hermann  Finck,  and  Nikolaus  Hermann. 

Of  greater  significance  in  music  history,  however,  was 
the  activity  which  almost  immediately  began  among  the 
more  learned  musicians,  in  applying  their  scholarship  to 
the  elaboration  of  these  church  melodies.      The  first  to 


136        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


supply  the  chorales  with  more  artistic  harmonisation  and 
contrapuntal  adornment  was  Johann  Walther,  a  faith- 
ful ally  of  Luther  in  his  ambition  to  reform  the  church 
service.  Walther  was  born  in  1496  in  Thuringia.  In 
1524  he  is  mentioned  as  Ph.D.  and  bass  singer  in  the 
choir  of  the   Prince  of  Saxony.     In  this  year,   also,   he 

published  the  first  monu- 
ment of  Protestant 
music,  the  Geystliche 
Gesangk  Btichleyn  (see  p. 
132),  upon  the  perfec- 
tion and  enlargement  of 
which  he  spent  the  rest 
of  his  life.     He  died  in 

1570. 

Of  far  greater  talent 
and  scholarship  was  Lud- 
wig  Senfl,  born  the  latter 
part  of  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury at  Zurich,  and  at 
one  time  pupil  of  Hein- 
rich  Isaak  in  Innsbruck.  He  died  about  1555.  Senfl 
promoted  the  technic  of  rhythm  very  materially  in  his 
contrapuntal  treatment  of  the  chorale.  Georg  Rhau 
(1488-1548),  noted  not  only  as  collector  and  publisher 
but  also  as  composer,  issued,  in  1544,  one  hundred  and 
twenty-three  tunes  for  the  schools  (Gemeindeschulen) 
which  contained  some  of  his  own  melodies. 

These  composers  still  followed  the  old  custom  of  plac- 
ing the  melody  proper  in  the  tenor  voice.  It  was  soon 
recognised  that  this  location  in  an  inner  register  not  only 
robbed  the  melody  of  its  intended  efi'ect,  but  added  to 
the  diflSculty  of  appropriately  simple  harmonisation;  and 
it  was,  therefore,  not  long  before  the  chorale-air  gravitated 
to  the  uppermost  (soprano*)  register  where  it  properly 
belonged.     One  of  the  most  earnest  advocates  of  this  im- 

*  Soprano,  from  sopra,  above. 


LUDWIG  SENFL 


MUSIC  OF  THE   PROTESTANT  CHURCH     137 

portant  innovation  was  Luke  Osiander,  who  endeavoured 
to  give,  in  every  direction,  a  more  natural  and  appropri- 
ate form  to  the  choral  service.  His  arrangements  of 
the  chorale,  therefore,  all  place  the  melody  in  the  so- 
prano,  where    the    congregation  could   more  readily  re- 


HANS   LEO  HASSLER 


cognise  it  and  more  easily  participate  in  its  singing;  his 
harmonies  are  always  simple,  consisting  chiefly  of  con- 
sonant triads. 

Another  advocate  of  this  more  practical  style  was 
Seth  Calvisius  (born  in  Thuringia,  1556;  died  as  cantor 
at  the  church  of  St.  Thomas,  in  Leipsic,  in  161 5).  Of 
greater  distinction  and  scholarship  was  Hans  Leo  Hass- 
ler,  born  at  Nuremberg  in  1564.  At  the  age  of  twenty 
he  went  to  Venice  to  study  with  the  elder  Gabrieli.  The 
following  year  he  returned  to  Augsburg.  Hassler's  cho- 
rale elaborations  are  based  upon  the  triads,  but  dissolved 
in  the  separate  voices  into  melodious  tone  lines  of  real 
musical  beauty  and  significance. 


138        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


tJ: 


i-^ 


^ 


^^ 


Probably  the  most  popular  of  all  the  German  masters 
of  the  sixteenth  century  was  Johannes  Eccard,  born  in 
1553;  from  1 571  to  1574  pupil  of  Lasso  in  Munich;  then 
in  Venice,  1578  in  Augsburg,  1604  in  Konigsburg,  and 
in  1609  in  Berlin,  where  he  died  in  161 1.  His  chorale 
work  is  distinguished  for  its  clearness  and  dignity;  in  it 
the  intention  of  imparting  distinctive  character  to  the  in- 
dividual lines  of  the  chorale  begins  to  manifest  itself  in 
a  striking  manner. 

The  first  writer  who  undertook,  with  definite  purpose,  to 
introduce  the  then  newly  cultivated  florid  Italian  melodic 
style  into  German  music  was  Michael  Praetorius,  born 
in  1 571  in  Thuringia.  He  laboured  in  many  directions  to 
promote  the  spread  of  the  best  style  of  church  music. 
Besides  a  very  large  number  of  compositions,  he  also 
contributed  to  the  literature  of  music,  historic  and  the- 
oretic. His  most  famous  book  is  the  Syntagma  musicum, 
a  treasure  of  historic  information  and  a  theoretical  trea- 
tise of  very  great  value.  The  following  illustrates  his 
adoption  of  the  florid  style  then  in  vogue  in  Italy,  in  the 
presentation  of  a  chorale: 


MUSIC  OF  THE   PROTESTANT  CHURCH     139 


Other  noteworthy  advocates  of  this  fusion  of  German 
sturdiness  with  ItaHan  grace  and  rhythmic  Hfe  were 
Erhard  Bodenschatz,  Johann  Cruger,  and  Melchior 
Franck. 

The  immediate  successor  of  Praetorius  was   Heinrich 
Schiitz,  the   most   gifted   musical   genius   of  his   century 
(born  1585)  and  the  most  eminent  forerunner  of  Sebas- 
tian Bach.     Under  the  tuition 
of  that  distinguished  represen- 
tative of  the  new  ItaHan  style, 
Giovanni  Gabrieli,  Schiitz  had 
entered  so  fully  into  the  spirit 
of  Italian  music  that  he  was 
able  to  combine  German  choral 
song  and  Italian  florid  melody 
far  more  intimately  and  vitally 
than  Praetorius  had  done. 

Two  of  his  successors,  Jo- 
hann Hermann  Schein  and 
Andreas  Hammerschmidt, 
seem  to  have  been  actuated  by 
a  desire  to  restore  the  chorale 

and  its  manipulation  to  a  style  of  melodic  and  harmonic 
presentation  more  in  keeping  with  its  original  simplicity 
and  sternness. 

It  is  evident  that  music  owes  to  the  Protestant  church 
service  the  development  of  the  harmonic  form  of  com- 
position and  of  the  chord  conception  of  tone  association, 
so  significant  in  the  further  advances  and  ultimate  power 
of  the  art.  The  Italians,  both  in  their  sacred  and  secu- 
lar writings,  had  unquestionably  made  important  and  far- 
reaching  use  of  the  compact  harmonic  method,  but  Ger- 
many was,  nevertheless,  destined  to  become  the  nation 
(and  chiefly  by  its  congregational  manner  of  musical 
worship  in  simple  choral  song)  through  which  this  most 
pregnant  and  forcible  mode  of  part-writing  was  to  evolve 
into  a  distinct  phase  of  musical  technic  and  music  history. 


JOHANN   HERMANN  SCHEIN 


140        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

Up  to  this  time  the  development  of  music  as  an  art 
was  centred  in  and  fostered  by  the  church.  But  ecclesi- 
astic influence  and  tribute  had  now  reached  their  end, 
and  the  scene  of  further  action  is  shifted  completel)^  from 
the  church  to  the  people.  Music  ceased  for  a  time  al- 
most altogether  to  be  a  sacred  art  and  became  essen- 
tially and  practically  a  secular  art.  With  the  freedom  of 
religious  thought  and  the  expansion  of  human  enlighten- 
ment in  all  directions,  came  new  desires  and  new  ten- 
dencies, and  these  provided  new  means  of  expression  for 
themselves.  Music  shared  this  spirit  of  freedom  and 
began  to  be  applied  to  its  greater  mission  of  reflecting 
the  broader  human — not  alone  the  religious — emotions 
of  the  universal  spirit  of  mankind. 


CHAPTER  XVII 
RISE  OF  THE   DRAMATIC  STYLE  OF  MUSIC 

ORATORIO  AND  OPERA  IN  ITALY 

The  drama  and  the  instinct  of  dramatic  representa- 
tation  are  as  old  as  humanit3^  Dramatic  plays  have 
been  a  popular  and  an  instructive  means  of  amusement 
in  all  ages.  In  Germany  the  open-air  (outdoor)  plays 
constituted  a  popular  recreation  in  the  twelfth  and  thir- 
teenth centuries  and  were  conducted  and  performed  by 
churchmen  themselves  for  a  time.  The  profession  of 
player  was  quite  as  distinct  then  as  now.  Thus  arose 
those  Latin  pla3^s,  or  dramas,  called  ludi  or  mysteria. 
Later,  songs  were  added  to  these  in  the  native  tongue 
and  emphasised  by  the  crowd  of  spectators  who  joined 
in  their  singing.  The  subject-matter  of  the  sacred  plays 
or  mj'steries  was  invariably  biblical,  and  the  occasions 
of  their  performance  were  usually  the  chief  holy  days  of 
the  Christian  calendar — Christmas,  Easter,  Passion  week, 
and  Whitsuntide — which  the)"  served  to  celebrate.  The 
musical  portions  were  originally  very  unimportant;  the 
interspersed  songs  were  sung  by  a  chorus — the  final  one 
usually  b}"  all  present;  the  dialogue  was  either  simply 
spoken,  or  recited  in  the  monotonous  manner  of  the 
church  intonations. 

In  England,  mysteries,  miracle-plays,  and  moralities 
were  extant  from  the  earliest  days  of  Christian  histor}^ 
down  to  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century;  and  they  were 
also  very  popular  in  France,  Spain,  and  Italy.  Many 
French  mysteries  still  exist  which  date  back  to  the  four- 
teenth and  some  even  to  the  eleventh  century. 

141 


142        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


The  nation  that  was  destined  first  to  impart  a  higher 
and  more  definite  artistic  aim  to  these  rude  dramatic 
presentations  was  Italy,  especially  as  concerns  the  office 
that  music  was  to  perform  in  them.     After  the  biblical 

drama  had  degenerated 
and  almost  completely 
disappeared,  a  kind  of 
dramatic  masquerade  or 
play,  of  secular  charac- 
ter, and  often  of  great 
magnificence  and  pomp, 
came  into  vogue  in 
Ferrara,  Florence,  and 
Rome,  and  proved  to  be  a 
strong  agency  in  awaken- 
ing general  mterest  m  the 
more  refined  drama.  The 
first  pla}^  of  this  kind 
possessed  of  some  real 
merit  is  said  to  have 
been  a  version  of  Orpheus, 
by  Politianus  (end  of  the 
fifteenth  century).  Its 
chief  factor  was  the 
spoken  dialogue,  between 
the  different  sections  of 
which  choruses  in  motette 
or  madrigal  form  were  introduced.  Not  the  faintest  idea 
of  a  vocal  solo  or  recitative  yet  existed,  nor  were  they 
known  until  the  following  century. 

Shortly  after  this  the  sacred  drama  experienced  a  sort 
of  resurrection  in  Italy.  A  devout  priest,  Philip  Neri 
(born  1515),  founded,  about  1551,  a  hall  of  prayer  at 
Florence  in  which  he  and  his  followers  assembled  for 
divine  worship  and  meditation.  In  the  course  of  the  fol- 
lowing seventeen  years  this  circle  had  become  so  firmly 
organised   and  had    so  increased  in  numbers   and  influ- 


wrA%fm^^M-^^P<M 


STAGE    SETTING    OF    SHAKESPEARE'S 

"HENRY  IV,"   AT  THE  RED   BULL 

THEATRE,  LONDON,  1600 


THE   DRAMATIC  STYLE  OF  MUSIC      143 

ence  that  it  was  sanctioned  by  a  papal  edict  as  the 
Congregazione  delV  Oratorio  (Congregation  of  the  Hall  of 
Prayer).  Desiring  to  add  music  to  the  attractiveness  of 
his  institution,  Neri  engaged  Giovanni  Animuccia  (mas- 
ter of  song  at  the  Vatican,  St.  Peter's,  and  fellow  student 
of  Palestrina  under  Goudimel)  to  arrange  and  conduct 
the  musical  service.  Here  it  was,  in  the  midst  of  this 
holy  order,  that  the  so-called  oratorio  style  was  created 
and  assumed  its  primary  form.  Animuccia's  work  in  this 
direction  was  carried  on  by  Palestrma,  Nanino,  Anerio, 
Marenzio,  Carissimi,  and  others,  with  ever-increasing 
system  and  success;  but  the  oratorio,  as  an  art  form,  was, 
nevertheless,  not  to  receive  the  same  attention  or  attain 
the  same  importance  in  Italy  that  it  did  later  on  in  Ger- 
many. 

As  concerns  the  origin  or,  more  properly,  the  revival 
of  that  other  branch  of  dramatic  art,  the  secular  drama, 
it  is  found,  somewhat  curiously,  taking  place  almost  si- 
multaneously with  that  of  the  oratorio,  though  quite  in- 
dependent of  the  latter;  and  the  subsequent  development 
of  both  the  sacred  and  secular  dramatic  and  musical 
forms  (oratorio  and  opera)  is  consequently  largely  identical 
and  reciprocal. 

In  the  house  of  Count  Giovanni  Bardi,  a  descendant 
of  an  illustrious  old  Tuscan  family  and  an  ardent  friend 
of  the  arts,  we  encounter  at  a  somewhat  later  period 
(near  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century)  a  circle  of  gifted 
scholars  and  art  lovers  who  conceived  the  idea  of  re- 
viving ancient  Greek  tragedy — of  placing  the  dramas  of 
iEschylus  and  Sophocles  on  the  stage  again.  As  these 
tragedies  called  for  a  certain  degree  of  musical  co-opera- 
tion or  accompaniment,  it  was  desirable  so  to  compose 
the  music  as  to  provide  as  close  correspondence  as  pos- 
sible with  the  spirit  of  the  original  drama.  Through  this 
agency  that  novel  species  of  secular  dramatic  art  with 
musical  setting  was  called  into  life  out  of  which,  in 
course  of  time,  the  opera  was  to  proceed. 


144        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

In  1589  there  were  among  Bardi's  associates  two  mu- 
sical artists  of  great  reputation  and  scholarship,  Giulio 
Caccini  and  Emilio  del  Cavalieri,  who  had  written  a 
number  of  so-called  Intermezd  for  the  nuptial  festival 
of  Prince  Ferdinand  of  Medici.  These  intermez2;i  were 
brief  vocal  interludes,  inserted  between  the  acts  of  the 
dramatic  presentation.  They  did  not  contain  anything 
whatever  in  the  nature  of  a  vocal  solo,  but  consisted  only 
of  madrigals  for  from  three  to  eight  voices,  of  so-called 
dialogues  for  from  twelve  to  thirty  vocal  parts,  and  of 
occasional  instrumental  sentences  called  symphonies. 

In  1590,  Cavalieri,  who  entered  with  ardour  into  the 
spirit  of  the  new  dramatic  project,  furnished  music  for  a 
number  of  dramas,  all  of  which  still  adhered  to  the  old 
madrigal  style.  It  was  not  until  the  year  1600  that  these 
composers,  and  particularly  Jacob  Peri,  began  to  produce 
works  of  a  distinctly  new  order.  Peri,  the  father  of  the 
modern  opera,  had  written  music  to  the  pla}^  of  DaphnCy 
as  early  as  1594,  which  met  with  such  favour  that  he  was 
encouraged  to  write  Eurydice,  in  1600,  in  the  same  style. 
This  latter  work,  which  is  recognised  by  historians  as  the 
first  to  contain  the  distinctive  elements  of  the  later  opera, 
was  published  and  dedicated  to  the  Queen.  Peri  had  a 
host  of  enthusiastic  admirers  and  the  imitation  of  his 
style  soon  became  general. 

In  1607  Claudio  Monte verde  followed  with  Orpheus 
and  Ariadne.  (The  subjects  of  all  these  dramatic  works, 
and  of  practically  all  that  followed  for  over  a  hundred 
years,  were  naturally  taken  from  Greek  tragedy.) 

Besides  these  two  new  forms  of  musical  art,  the  ora- 
torio and  the  opera,  there  was  a  third,  which  originated 
about  the  same  time — the  sacred  concerto — the  creator  of 
which  was  Ludovico  Viadana.  The  reason  given  by  Vi- 
adana  (in  the  preface  to  a  volume  of  such  compositions) 
for  the  adoption  of  a  new  style  was  "that  the  individual 
singers  might  each  find  something  to  their  taste,  and  the 
opportunity  to  display  their  skill,  instead  of  being  merely 


THE   DRAMATIC   STYLE  OF  MUSIC      145 

one  of  a  number  of  interdependent  parts."  The  sacred 
concerto  was,  therefore,  the  direct  incentive  to  the  in- 
troduction of  the  solo  song,  with  all  its  momentous  con- 
sequences, as  aria  and  recitative  of  the  new-born  dramatic 
forms. 

This  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  singing  of  the  German 
chorale  as  one-voice,  unison,  chant;  the  latter  was  wholly 
different  from  the  vocal  monody,  both  in  spirit  and  pur- 
pose. Nor  is  it  to  be  associated  in  any  other  than  a 
very  general  sense  with  the  songs  of  the  troubadours, 
minstrels,  and  the  populace,  which,  as  song,  had  been  the 
practice  of  humanity  for  centuries. 

The  first  name  associated  with  the  history  of  monody 
or  solo  song  is  Vincenzo  Galilei,  about  1570.  His  exper- 
iments were  carried  on  by  Giulio  Caccini  and  Ludovico 
Viadana,  and  were  crowned  with  marked  success  in  the 
solo  song  of  Monteverde  and  Alessandro  Scarlatti. 

The  predilection  which  Italy  as  a  nation  has  always 
shown  for  melody  and  song  led  very  early  to  the  creation 
of  regular  systems  of  vocal  training,  and  the  technic  of 
the  art  of  song  soon  became,  in  that  country,  the  object 
of  careful  study  and  cultivation.  Caccini  published  an 
elaborate  vocal  method,  from  which  it  is  evident  that 
the  art  was  being  practised  according  to  recognised  rules. 
His  directions  in  regard  to  intonation,  attack,  and  the 
embellishments  are  most  interesting  and  of  positive  value 
to  the  modern  singer. 

Thus,  every  movement,  both  on  the  dramatic  and  mu- 
sical plane,  tended  toward  the  development  of  solo  song, 
culminating  in  the  two  important  forms  of  the  recita- 
tive and  aria,  without  which  no  effective  musical  drama 
could  exist.  At  first  there  was  but  little  difference  be- 
tween them;  the  recitative  was  barely  more  than  a  mo- 
notonous declamation  approaching  the  ordinary  modu- 
lations of  speech,  and  the  aria  rarely  extended  beyond 
simple  four  or  eight  measure  phrases,  with  well-defined 
cadence  inflection.     Both  Peri  and  Caccini  laid  extreme 


146 


ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


stress  upon  the  closest  reflection  of  the  meaning  of  each 
separate  word,  and  they  employed,  at  times,  abrupt  dis- 
sonances and  peculiar,  unexpected  melodic  interval-pro- 
gressions to  obtain  this  vivid  dramatic  result. 

The  following  is  an  interesting  example  of  the  earliest 
form  of  solo  song  by  Caccini,  who  adds  careful  marks  of 
expression  (a  thing  absolutely  unknown  in  any  earlier 
form  of  music,  sacred  or  secular).  The  bass  accompani- 
ment is  for  the  chitarrone  (large  lute): 


^S 


jr-^"^ 


^ 


cU 


(;  =   1-1 


A// 


^^ut'^n.n  ri.  ,    (9'?    (1 


A/.\ 


^m 


d.trv^  fitt^^j 


=J4^ 


=3^^==^ 


^ 


-r^' 


^ 


lAci.  f-±y^  two 


Sj^. 


^^ 


» 


JU^  cLrv-i 


J'*    I      .1 


^j^ 


fiyD-v*    fifa.-n^ 


r=^=^ 


:j  -^wiurr^ 


s 


di 


^ 


iJ       g^  i^C  ~-    "^  cf-n    9/^"^  ^  ' 


1 


i^.  1,^. 


The  traits  which  were  to  become  characteristic  of  the 
subsequent  aria  appear  first  with  evident  purpose  in  the 
writings  of  Claudio  Monteverde.     He  was  born  in  1568 


THE   DRAMATIC  STYLE  OF   MUSIC      147 

at  Cremona,  was  master  of  song  in  St.  Mark's  Cathedral 
in  Venice  and  later  chapelmaster  to  the  Duke  of  Mantua; 
he  died  in  1643.  The  following  truly  remarkable  exam- 
ple of  earU^  dramatic  declamation,  whose  expressiveness 
is  as  touching  as  it  is  genuine,  is  from  a  monologue  of 
the  forsaken  Ariadne,  by  Monteverde: 


e  I    JbJ,     ]i^ 


B 


^S 


o2^  - 


--Tfe 


tw-t,     >v<_o 


yt-c, y»-«^/ 


i.  J.  J.  r 


-^ 


^^    m  ^ 


^<:<.cC:i,/iJmJ.) 


^Lx^  /6'.i^P'(       J  J    ^ — 1^  J  1 


?7 


^       ^'.1 


^5 


-,*-£.  -  -/l^  , 


^ 


^ 


i^ 


^W^ 


V- 


w 


s 


-^-^^^^ 


w^. 


'^=^ 


6  b»Z       '^  i' 

What  influence  all  of  these  tendencies  toward  more 
vital  dramatic  and  emotional  expression  necessarily  ex- 
erted upon  the  instrumental  portions  of  the  early  opera 
will  be  shown  in  Chapter  XVIII.  Peri's  Eurydice  was 
accompanied  by  a  clavicembalo  (early  form  of  the  piano- 
forte), a  chitarrone  (largest  lute),  a  lira  grande,  and  a 
large  lute — behind  the  scenes. 

The  musical  dramas,  produced  in  astonishing  number, 
were  performed  in  difl^erent  cities  and  became  immensely 
popular.     In  1637  Venice  already  possessed  a  permanent 


148 


ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


public  theatre.  Every  composer  of  note  devoted  him- 
self more  or  less  earnestly  to  the  novel  style  of  compo- 
sition, among  whom  the  most  significant  were: 

From   1635   to  1660,   Claudio  Monteverde,   Benedetto 
Ferrari,  Francesco  Cavalli,  Marc  Antonio  Cesti. 


(l)   SCARLATTI,    (2)   TARTINI,    (3)   MARTINI,    (4)   LOCATELLI,    (5)    LANZETTI,    (6)   CAFARELLl's   CAT 
SINGING  AN   ITALIAN    PARODY 


From  1660  to  1680,  Molinari,  Giovanni  Legrenzi,  Gio- 
vanni Freschi. 

From  1680  to  1700,  Francesco  Righi,  Giovanni  Ruggieri, 
Alessandro  Stradella,  Alessandro  Scarlatti,  Atillo  Ariosti. 

At  about  the  same  time  that  the  Greek  tragedy  was 
adopted  for  dramatic  treatment,  the  comedy  also  began 
to  flourish.  An  Italian  literar}^  authority  names  Vecchi's 
Amfipaniasso  as  the  first  comic  opera;  it  was  per- 
formed in  1594  at  Modena  and  introduced  the  droll 
characters  of  the  popular  farce,  Pantalon,  Harlequin, 
Brigella. 

One  of  the  most  eminent  promoters  of  sacred  dramatic 
music  was  Giacomo  Carissimi,  of  whose  life  less  is  known 
than  of  his  works.     Carissimi  was  born  1604  at  Marino, 


THE   DRAMATIC  STYLE  OF   MUSIC      149 


near  Rome;  he  was  chapelmaster  in  Apollinare  church  in 
Rome;  flourished  in  the  years  1635-74,  ^^'^  hved  to  a 
ripe  old  age.  His  contemporaries  speak  of  him  as  one  of 
the  progressive  spirits  of  the  day.  As  far  as  is  known, 
he  did  not  compose  a  single  opera,  but  he  nevertheless 
contributed  to  the  perfection  of  the  dramatic  form  by 
his  significant  achievements  in  the  aria  and  recitative,  in 
a  style  of  composition  known  as  the  chamber  cantata. 
This  form  was  one  of  the  first 
results  of  the  influences  which 
the  development  of  the  dramatic 
style  naturall}^  exerted  upon  the 
older  forms  of  composition. 

Carissimi  was  a  master  of  the 
old-school  counterpoint,  but  he 
applied  his  skill  and  solidity  of 
technical  treatment  to  the  new 
forms,  and  imparted  to  them 
the  necessary  stability  of  struc- 
ture and  greater  seriousness  of 
purpose.  He  it  was  who  ex- 
tended and  defined  the  essen- 
tial outlines  of  the  melodic  de- 
signs, either  as  solo-aria  or  duet,  for  all  time,  by  moulding 
them  according  to  the  forms  of  popular  song — in  rounded 
phrases  and  periods,  with  distinct  cadential  limits,  and 
the  "recurrences,"  which  were  not  only  a  recognised  ele- 
ment of  perspicuous  design  in  the  lays  of  the  minnesingers, 
but  constitute  the  vital  basis  of  musical  form  throughout 
the  classic  period  to  our  own  day.  One  of  Carissimi's 
most  famous  followers  In  the  sacred  dramatic  forms  was 
Alessandro  Stradella  (1645-81),  a  composer  and  singer  of 
great  popularity. 

The  most  brilliant  period  of  old  Italian  opera  was  in- 
augurated by  Alessandro  Scarlatti  (the  elder,  father  of  the 
still  more  famous  Domenico  Scarlatti).  He  lived  about 
1659-1725,  a  native  of  Naples  and  a  pupil  of  Carissimi. 


ALESSANDRO   SCARLATTI 


150        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


His  first  opera,  Vonesta  negVamore,  was  produced  at 
Rome.  He  returned  to  Naples  as  chapelmaster,  where 
he  spent  the  remainder  of  a  Hfe  of  almost  incredible  ver- 
satility and  wide-spread  artistic  usefulness. 

Scarlatti,  the  elder,  was  the  tutor  of  "half  of  Italy  and 
Germany,"  and  as  singer  and  vocal  teacher  he  is  regarded 
as  the  founder  of  modern  dramatic  vocalism,  just  as  Ca- 

rissimi  was  of  the  cham- 
ber aria  and  sacred  aria. 
The  arias  of  Scarlatti  are 
firmly  moulded  in  the 
form  of  two  parts  (sec- 
tions) with  a  third  as  da 
capo.  His  overtures  were 
distinguished  from  those 
of  French  composers  in 
consisting  of  a  grave 
(slow)  movement  be- 
tween two  allegro  sec- 
tions— a  design  known 
as  the  Italian  overture. 

From  the  birth  of 
Philip  Neri  (1515)  to  the 
death  of  Claudio  Mon- 
teverde  (1643)  the  dra- 
matic element  in  music 
evolved  to  a  truly  re- 
markable degree.  It  was 
developed  in  the  works  of  Carissimi  and  applied  in  the 
early  Italian  operas  of  Alessandro  Scarlatti.  The  advent 
of  the  two  important  forms,  opera  and  oratorio,  occurred 
at  a  time  of  great  activity  in  Italy: 

Michael  Angelo  laboured  for  fifty  years  as  sculptor, 
painter,  architect,  and  poet.  Leonardo  da  Vinci  died  in 
1 5 19  and  Correggio  in  1534.  The  Council  of  Trent  met  in 
1545  and  remained  officially  active  until  1563;  one  of  its 
most  notable  achievements  was  the  purification  of  church 


DOMENICO  SCARLATTI 


THE   DRAMATIC  STYLE  OF  MUSIC      151 

music  by  prohibiting  the  use  of  secular  melodies  as  cantus 
firmus.     (See  Chapter  XV.) 

Contemporaneous  with  these  activities  were  the  early 
colonisations  on  the  continent  of  America.  De  Soto  dis- 
covered the  Mississippi  in  1539.  St.  Augustine,  the  old- 
est town  in  the  United  States,  was  founded  by  Menen- 
dez  and  his  followers  in  1565.  Champlain,  "a  gentleman 
of  France,"  founded  the  city  of  Quebec  in  Canada  in 
1608.  The  following  year,  Hudson  sailed  up  the  river 
that  now  bears  his  name. 

A  few  years  earlier,  1603,  James  I  issued  letters  patent 
to  the  Virginia  Company,  and  in  1607  Jamestown  (Vir- 
ginia) was  settled.  The  Mayflower  brought  the  Puritans 
(Independents)  to  what  became  Plymouth  in  1620.  In 
1636  Harvard  College  was  founded. 


15 15.     Philip  Neri. 


1568.     Monteverde  born. 

1570.     Vincenzo  Galilei  (monody). 


1519.     DeathofLeonardodaVinci. 

1534.      Death  of  Correggio. 

1539.     De    Soto    discovered     the 

Mississippi. 
1545.     Council  of  Trent. 

1564.  Michael  Angelo  died. 

1565.  St.     Augustine      (Florida) 

founded. 


1590.  Dramatic  music  by  Cava- 
lieri. 

1594.     Peri's  Daphne. 

1597-  First  Italian  opera  at  Ven- 
ice. 


1600. 

Peri's  Eurydice. 

1603. 

1604. 

Carissimi  born. 

1607. 

Monteverde's  Orpheus. 

1607. 

1608. 
1620. 
1636. 

1643. 

Death  of  Monteverde. 

1643. 

1659. 

Alessandro  Scarlatti  born. 

The  Virginia  Company. 

Jamestown,  (Virginia)  set- 
tled. 
Quebec  founded. 
The  Plymouth  Colony. 
Harvard  College  founded. 
The  New  Haven  Colony. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 
EARLY   ERA  OF  ORATORIO  IN  GERMANY 

The  same  spirit  of  dramatic  expression  was  active  in 
Germany,  and  especially  in  the  sacred  forms,  even  more 
vigorously  and  effectively  than  in  Italy.  Sacred  plays 
(Passion  plays  and  mysteria)  were  more  common  and 
popular  in  Germany  than  in  the  centre  of  Catholic  influ- 
ence and  at  a  much  earlier  date.  At  the  end  of  the  fif- 
teenth century  they  had  attained  such  dimensions  as  to 
extend  over  several  successive  days.  The  number  of  per- 
sons engaged  also  increased  in  proportion;  in  1498  a  play 
was  given  in  Frankfort  with  two  hundred  and  sixty-five 
actors. 

That  the  German  folk-song  should  play  a  significant 
part  in  these  productions  is  self-evident;  and  the  fact 
that  German  composers  always  adhered  firmly  to  the 
form  and  style  of  the  people's  song,  adopting  it  as  the 
melodic  and  structural  basis  for  their  arias,  is  the  prin- 
cipal explanation  of  the  enormous  popularity  which  the 
dramatic  forms  achieved  in  this  nation. 

In  Germany  far  greater  interest  was  manifested  in  the 
sacred  dramatic  forms,  oratorio  and  sacred  concerto, 
than  in  the  opera.  As  early  as  the  middle  of  the  six- 
teenth century  it  was  the  rule  for  every  composer  to 
write  a  musical  setting  of  the  Passion.  One  of  the  most 
celebrated  works  of  this  character  was  a  so-called  Actu 
Oratorio,  composed  by  Melchior  Franck  and  first  per- 
formed at  Coburg  in   1630.     It  was  a  mixture  of  Latin 

152 


ERA  OF  ORATORIO  IN  GERMANY       153 


sacred  text  and  free  poetical  intermezzi,  designed  both  to 
entertain  and  edify  the  hearer.  This  remarkable  work 
testifies  to  the  sharp  distinction  between  the  two  prin- 
cipal dramatic  styles,  oratorio  and  opera,  which  was  rec- 
ognised and  maintained  from  the  start.  The  following 
terzetto  from  the  Actu  Oratorio  gives  an  impression  of 
the  progress  already  made  in  free  and  appropriate  musi- 
cal expression.  It  is  a  hymn  of  consolation  brought  by 
three  angels  in  a  dream  to  Prince  Gottfried: 


\.     ^ 


(\  rrrr 


^ 


^^^ 


zizS. 


'/>A/vg>-A-<,-o--^ 


dt4/LC^  ,  e-ce-. 


wj,  y-^  I  ji-    r^i  I  1 


r.yrrujrj^j- bri  n  4 


\i\\\hV'-^  1 


^ 


-^  i  '^--^'n  w....  '^^"-'^^ 


j^i-% 


'H'<QjCc^C'*-i><rf'       tJjLC 


y    '^   1     T    \ 


^?^ 


^ 


FJa.i;  r]?g 


'1  'u    ^^m 


I  4-     Ui  4^^ 


et(. 


^ 


Both  aria  and  chorus  attained  an  eminent  degree  of 
beauty  and  force  in  the  later  works  of  Heinrich  Schiitz, 
whose  name  has  already  been  mentioned  in  connection 
with  the  chorale,  and  who,  as  probably  the  greatest  mas- 
ter of  his  era,  constitutes  one  of  the  chief  links  in  the 
chain  of  historic  musical  heroes,  reaching  from  Guido 
of  the  Middle  Ages  down  to  Beethoven,  Wagner,  and 
Brahms. 

Schiitz   (sometimes  known   by  the  Latin   designation. 


154        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


Sagittarius)  was  born  in  North  Germany,  October  8, 
1585  (exactly  one  hundred  years  earHer  than  Bach,  Han- 
del, and  Domenico  Scarlatti);  at  the  age  of  thirteen  he 
entered  the  court  chapel  of  Landgrave  Moritz  of  Hesse- 
Cassel  as  chorus  boy  and  there  obtained  a  thorough 
musical  education.  Later  he  attended  the  University  of 
Marburg  as  law  student,  but  his  musical  genius  was  dis- 
covered in  time  to  intercept  this  career,  and  the  land- 
grave sent  him  to  Venice  in  1609  to  study  with  Giovanni 
Gabrieli.     Two  years  later  he  published  at  that  place  his 

first  book  of  madrigals  and 
won  honourable  recogni- 
tion. After  the  lapse  of  two 
more  years,  upon  the  death 
of  Gabrieli,  Schiitz  returned 
to  Cassel  and  shortly  after- 
ward was  called  to  take 
charge  of  the  Capella  at 
Dresden.  This  organisa- 
tion was  scattered  by  the 
\~^  desolating  Swedish  wars, 
\  and  Schiitz  was  unable  to 
reassemble  and  establish  it 
anew  until  1641.  He  died 
at  Dresden,  November  6, 
1672. 
The  chief  endeavour  of  Schiitz  was  to  introduce  the 
more  animated  and  florid  Italian  style  (with  the  best 
forms  of  which  he  had  become  profoundly  familiar  dur- 
ing his  four  years'  scholarship  with  Gabrieli)  into  Ger- 
man music,  or  rather  to  amalgamate  the  charm  of  the 
one  with  the  vigour  and  substantial  worth  of  the  other. 
He  thus  succeeded  in  creating  a  new  method  of  expres- 
sion which  combined  the  enduring  qualities  of  the  best 
conceptions  of  both  musical  nations,  and  promoted  the 
art  to  a  higher  grade  of  beauty  and  power  than  it  had 
ever  before  reached. 


HEINRICH  SCHUTZ 


ERA  OF  ORATORIO  IN  GERMANY       155 

Among  his  earlier  compositions  the  most  noteworthy 
are  the  Psalms  of  David,  motettes  and  concertos  for  eight 
and  more  parts,  the  Story  of  the  Resurrection  of  Our  Lord, 
all  most  masterly  creations,  replete  with  beauties  of  har- 
mony, melody,  and  rhythm  almost  unapproached  by  his 


THEORBO  (to  the  left).    CHITARRONE  (centre). 
ARCHLUTE  (to  the  right) 


predecessors.  And  ytt  these  were  but  the  forerunners  of 
those  grandly  designed  oratorios  which  constitute  the 
third  volume  of  his  Symphonic  sacrce  (1650),  and  which, 
along  with  the  four  Passions,  represent  Schiitz's  most 
noteworthy  and,  in  many  respects,  truly  magnificent  mu- 
sical creations.  The  four  passions  (according  to  the  four 
evangelists)  were  composed  in  his  eighty-first  year. 

The  St.  Matthew  Passion  is  thus  introduced — a  solemn 
and  impressive  announcement  of  the  subject  to  follow, 
with  fairly  simple  harmonic  material: 


156        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


A;^ 


£lj.-  -  -  cL^    tA^ fiJiA^   ^^.vxiu^    A^^  f^'^ 


&r^ 


/^■---W!; 


^ 


f 


Mjf-^^l:^..    . ^ 


=g=^ 


^ 


ttt  r  -1 


^  'Mnfhi  .!•■ 


M 


Very  characteristic  is  the  animated  presentation  of  the 
text,  Prophesy  to  us!  in  the  St.  Mark  Passion: 


•uc/i/iC?. 


^  \  j^.mm 


ijiijlLiiiiiiJjiuIijmij. 


-      vf 


Ixjigj-TP-'  jgr^gg 


vT]    lUJl 


^ 


r  rrni ,  rrvfi  rrm  fn+^ 


3\ 


^^^^^s>. 


^s 


iLU-olvh   n  lilJJ ru^  V   V 


i^i^^  --il^j'  l-i  )  J^  iII?l|iTli  ^  ^ 


p>  IJlJ^  -I 


^  n^  ^ 


g 


Partly  as  contemporaries  and  partly  as  successors  of 
Schiitz,  several  other  gifted  composers  appear,  whose  la- 
bours in  the  sacred  dramatic  forms  were  of  historic  sig- 


ERA  OF  ORATORIO  IN  GERMANY       157 


nificance.  Some  of  these  have  already  been  mentioned; 
Johann  Hermann  Schein,  noted  for  his  elaboration  of  the 
chorale  in  the  new  Italian  style;  Johann  Rosenmiiller 
(died  1686);  Johann  Rudolf  Ahle  (1625-73),  and  his  son, 
Johannes  Georg  Ahle  (1650-1706). 

The  two  Ahles  are  considered  as  the  two  direct  pred- 
ecessors of  the  great  Johann  Sebastian  Bach  and  were 
justly  noted  for  their  suc- 


cess in  unifying  the  artis- 
tic styles  of  both  sacred 
and  secular  composition. 
Typical  specimens  of  the 
new  aria  form  are  found 
in  the  writings  of  the 
younger  Ahle,  whose  Sea- 
sons was  very  popular 
and  famous. 

Further,  Wolfgang  Carl 
Briegel  (born  1626),  in 
whose  oratorios  the  ex- 
periments of  earlier 
writers  begin  to  assume 
a  certain  degree  of  effec- 
tiveness and  permanency; 
and  Johann  Sebastian! 
(born  1622),  a  composer 
of  graceful    melodies, 

whose  Passion  work  is  probably  the  first  in  which  the 
new  concerted  style  with  instrumental  accompaniment 
and  interspersed  verses  of  song  was  adopted.  (The  in- 
strumental accompaniment  in  this  work  consisted  of  two 
violins,  four  violas,  the  bassus  continuus — -probably  for 
bass  lute — organ,  lutes,  theorbos,  violas  da  gamba,  and 
violas  da  braccio.) 

In  the  year  1644  a  curious  work  appeared,  in  the  nature 
of  a  singspiel  (vaudeville  or  play  with  songs),  which  illus- 
trates the  influence  of  the  spirit  of  popular  song,  whose 


ANGEL  WITH   LUTE 
(albrecht  durer) 


158        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


significance  throughout  all  musical  tendencies  in  Ger- 
many has  been  pointed  out.  This  play  was  called  "Sa- 
cred Forest-ode,  or  recreation,  entitled  Seel-ezvig;  the  tunes 
composed  in  the  Itahan  manner  by  Sigismund  Gottlieb 
Staden." 

Seel-ezvig  (immortal  soul)  was  the  name  of  the  title 
role  and  represented  a  nymph.  Eight  characters  ap- 
peared as  nymphs,  shepherds,  shepherdesses,  the  spirit 
of  the  forest,  and  figured  in  a  series  of  partl}^  allegorical 

and  partly  real  episodes, 
wherein  Seel-ewig  is  be- 
set with  divers  tempta- 
tions from  which  she  is 
successively  rescued  and 
fmally  redeemed  in  tri- 
umph. The  accompani- 
ment included  three 
violins,  three  flutes, 
three  shawns  (may- 
flutes),  a  rude  horn,  and 
a  theorbo  for  the  con- 
tinuous bass. 

All  these  eff'orts  to 
cultivate  the  dramatic 
style  obtained  a  more 
definite  aim  and  sup- 
port in  Germany  upon  the  establishment  of  permanent 
theatres.  The  first  of  these  was  organised  at  Hamburg 
in  1678  and  was  opened  with  a  performance  of  a  singspiel 
called  The  Created,  Fallen,  and  Redeemed  Man.  The  music 
was  by  Johann  Theile,  a  pupil  of  Schiitz.  The  libretto 
provided  for  recitatives,  arias  in  strict  metre,  duets,  and 
choruses.  The  accompaniment  was  played  by  a  spinet, 
bass  viol,  and  bandora;  and  this  body  of  players  was  em- 
ployed not  only  as  accompaniment  to  the  vocal  parts,  but 
also,  as  expressly  specified,  "now  and  then  the  viols  may 
be  heard  alone,  to  give  the  singers  a  chance  to  breathe." 


SIGIS^lUNDUS  THEOPHILUS  STADEN 


ERA  OF  ORATORIO  IN  GERMANY       159 

Dramatic  music  in  Germany,  both  as  evidenced  by  the 
secular  (opera)  and  sacred  (oratorio)  forms,  enjoyed  a 
flourishing  period  during  the  entire  seventeenth  century. 
Tendencies  in  the  development  of  the  art  were  so  directed 
that  in  the  lifetime  of  Schiitz  (i 585-1672)  both  these 
great  forms  were  established  in  Germany  as  they  were 
similarly  established  in  Italy  under  the  followers  of  Neri. 

The  period  was  one  of  immense  intellectual  activity 
throughout  Europe.  Copernicus  had  a  century  before 
corrected  the  error  of  the  Ptolemaic  system.  His  bril- 
liant follower,  Galileo  (i 564-1642),  worked  contempo- 
raneously with  the  composers  of  the  early  schools  of  opera 
and  oratorio.  Descartes  and  Spinoza  were  eminent  phi- 
losophers. The  early  mystery  and  morality  plays  in 
England  had  given  place  to  the  works  of  Shakespeare. 
The  Puritan  age  in  English  letters  was  rich  in  a  new 
order  of  literature.  In  1653  Izaak  Walton's  Complete 
Angler  appeared;  in  the  same  period  Jeremy  Taylor's 
Holy  Living  and  Holy  Dying  was  written — a  book  that  is 
said  to  have  been  read  by  every  humble  cottager.  Like- 
wise, in  this  period  were  written  the  plays  of  the  two 
great  collaborators  Francis  Beaumont  and  John  Fletcher. 
John  Milton  died  in  1674,  ^wo  years  after  the  death  of 
Schiitz.  Pilgrim's  Progress,  by  John  Bunyan  (1628-88), 
the  greatest  of  all  allegories,  "stole  silently  into  the 
world." 


CHAPTER  XIX 

DEVELOPMENT    OF    AN    INDEPENDENT 
INSTRUMENTAL    STYLE 

THE    ORGAN 

In  the  more  modern  periods  of  musical  history  there  is 
a  pronounced  preference  manifested  for  the  instrumental 
style  of  composition.  So  complete  is  the  change  in  atti- 
tude and  conception,  and  in  the  supremacy  of  the  latter 
class  over  the  vocal  style,  that  their  relations  to  one  an- 
other have  become  exactly  the  reverse  of  what  they  were 
originally.  Instrumental  music  is  commonly  distinguished 
as  absolute  music  because  no  external  auxiliaries  such 
as  text,  dramatic  presentation,  scenic  illustration,  and 
the  like  are  employed  to  heighten  the  musical  effect. 
Instrumental  music  depends  exclusively  upon  the  elemen- 
tal power  of  tone  abstracted  from  all  other  elements  of 
attractiveness;  upon  the  force  of  formal  symmetry  and 
proportion;  the  ever-varying  interaction  of  impressions 
that  are  of  a  purely  musical  nature.  It  lies,  therefore, 
in  the  nature  of  things  that  this  refined  and  genuine 
phase  of  tone  expression,  this  last  and  most  perfect  prod- 
uct of  artistic  evolution,  should  have  been  reserved  for 
that  advanced  period  of  art  history  when  the  conscious- 
ness of  its  capacity  should  have  reached  a  higher  degree 
of  maturity. 

At  first  it  was  natural  for  human  beings  to  restrict 
themselves  to  the  use  of  the  instrument  which  Nature 
herself  provides — the  human  voice.  The  superior  rank  of 
this,  and  of  the  vocal  style  identified  with  its  specific 
qualities   and  resources,  was  almost  wholly  uncontested 

1 60 


INDEPENDENT  INSTRUMENTAL   STYLE     i6i 

until  as  late  as  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century.  We 
have  seen  that  the  strolling  players  and  minstrels  ac- 
companied their  vocal  lays  upon  some  rude  instrument — 
the  vielle,  bagpipe,  or  lute;  and  in  the  church,  the  organ, 
clarion,  and  trombone  were  used  at  an  early  period  for 


MUSICAL  INSTRUMENTS  OF  THE  EARLY  SIXTEENTH  CENTURY 

DESIGNED    IN    ISI2 


the  support  of  the  vocal  choir.  But  the  instruments 
served  no  other  purpose  than  this;  nothing  more  was 
assigned  to  them  than  the  duplication  of  the  vocal  parts; 
not  before  the  sixteenth  century  is  there  any  trace  of  a 
strictly  independent  instrumental  conception  and  appli- 


i62        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

cation  of  music  to  be  found.  The  earliest  compositions 
of  this  character  in  which  the  instruments  were  used  alone 
were  but  little  or  nothing  more  than  an  exact  transcrip- 
tion of  songs  and  other  vocal  pieces  for  the  vielle,  hurdy- 
gurdy,  lute,  or  harp. 


A   "BOOK"  ORGAN 


The  first  collection  of  printed  instrumental  pieces  ap- 
peared in  1507-08  in  Venice  and  consisted  in  four  books 
of  lute  pieces,  chiefly  dances. 


c^cJf^  cL>  .r/^^o..>^H^  J^  t^  ^-^  ^^^'='^) 


3^ 


nilUi^i 


* 


^ 


^ 


m 


ft 


1 


u. 


:^=^ 


5 


5 


The  next  appears  to  have  been  issued  in  1529  at  Paris. 
These  pieces  were  also  for  the  lute  and  probably  differed 


INDEPENDENT  INSTRUMENTAL  STYLE     163 

very  slightly  from  similar  vocal  compositions  in  the 
usual  contrapuntal  style  of  the  time.  In  1589  a  collec- 
tion of  compositions  w^as  published  at  Rome,  each  num- 
ber in  a  threefold  arrangement — for  three  vocal  parts, 
for  cembalo,  and  for  the  lute. 

With  the  exception  of  dances,  a  few  organ  pieces,  and 
such  transcriptions   as  the  above,  no  compositions  that 


From  a  manuscript  Psalter,  National  Library,  Paris. 
FOURTEENTH-CENTURY  ORGAN 


were  written  expressly  for  instruments  (without  reference 
to  vocal  models)  appear  until  the  last  quarter  of  the  six- 
teenth century.  But  thereafter  instrumental  music  made 
rapid  advances  and  soon  became  of  equal  importance 
and  popularity  with  the  vocal  style. 

Among  the  numerous  but  still  very  imperfect  instru- 
ments of  early  days  the  organ  assumed  the  most  im- 
portant rank.  Of  its  ancestry  it  suffices  to  say  that  it 
originated  in  the  hydraulos,  or  "water-organ,"  popular 
with  the  Greeks  and  Romans.  The  word  organum  sig- 
nifies "instrument"  in  general. 

Organs  were  introduced  into  the  Catholic  Church  about 


164 


ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


the  eighth  century;  in  England  as  early  as  the  seventh; 
in  France  not  until  the  eleventh.  In  Germany  organ- 
building  became  an  important  branch  of  industry  at  the 
end  of  the  ninth  century,  and  in  the  tenth  there  were 
already  organs  of  considerable  magnitude  in  Erfurt,  Mu- 
nich, Magdeburg,   and   Halberstadt.     The  hydraulic  or- 


EARLY   PORTATIVE   ORGAN 


gans  were  superseded  at  about  this  time  by  those  in 
which  a  number  of  alternating  bellows  produced  a  stead- 
ier wind-pressure.  The  pipes  were  placed  originally  in  a 
single  row;  then  other  rows  were  added;  and  after  a  while 
the  front  or  principal  row  was  separated  from  the  back 
rows  and  a  different  keyboard  used  for  each.  This  also 
gave  rise  in  time  to  the  row  of  keys  for  the  feet  (about 
the  fifteenth  century),  called  pedals  in  distinction  to  the 
manuals  for  the  hands. 

In  the  fifteenth  century  experiments  were  ventured  in 
the  imitation  of  other  instruments,  and  the  organ  soon 


INDEPENDENT  INSTRUMENTAL  STYLE     165 

comprised  flute,  trumpet,  and  other  stops  or  registers. 
An  important  improvement  was  made  in  the  invention 
of  reed-pipes,  whereby  it  became  possible  to  obtain  greater 
variety  and  to  simulate  other  instruments  more  closely. 
Most  significant  of  all  were  the  adoption  of  a  uniform 
standard   pitch,    and   the   equahsed   temperament    (men- 


ORGAN  OF  THE   EARLY   SEVENTEENTH   CENTURY 


tioned  in  connection  with  Zarlino,  and  the  incentive  to  the 
Well-Tempered  Clavichord  of  Bach,  who  was  an  earnest 
supporter  of  the  innovation). 

At  first  the  organist  limited  himself  to  the  mere  dupli- 
cation of  the  vocal  cantus  intonated  by  priest  or  choir; 
later  he  probably  added  a  discantus  of  his  own  or  played 
all  the  vocal  parts.  As  the  mechanism  of  the  instrument 
was  improved  the  resources  of  the  organist  increased, 
and  his  technical  skill  kept  pace  necessarily  with  these, 
until  it  was  no  mean  accomplishment  to  be  an  organist, 
even  in  the  earlier  days  of  the  great  contrapuntal  schools. 


i66        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

The  advances  seem  to  have  been  most  rapid  in  the 
Netherlands  and  Germany,  where  organists  surpassed 
those  of  Italy,  notwithstanding  the  high  esteem  in  which 
the  latter  were  held  as  late  as  the  seventeenth  century. 

The  oldest  organ  composi- 
tions which  have  been  pre- 
served are  said  to  be  the 
works  of  a  German,  Conrad 
Paumann  (born  blind  at 
Nuremberg;  lived  in  the 
fifteenth  century). 

In  Italy  organ  playing 
flourished  most  vigorously  in 
Rome  and  Venice.  Next  to 
the  two  Gabrielis,  Claudio 
Merulo  of  Correggio  (1533- 
1604)  is  regarded  as  one  of 
the  most  noted  organists  of 

GiROLAMO  FRESLuiiALDi  ^}'^   ^^^e.     He  gave  a  lively 

impetus  to  the  technic  of 
the  organ  and  also  to  the  styles  of  composition  for  the 
instrument;  he  was  probably  the  first  to  give  definite 
form  to  the  toccata. 

Another  eminent  Italian  organist  was  Girolamo  Fres- 
cobaldi.  This  so-called  "father  of  the  true  art  of  organ 
playing"  was  born  about  1583  at  Ferrara,  died  1644. 
He  is  known  in  history  as  the  most  skilful  and  gifted 
organist  of  this  era,  and  is  said  to  have  been  followed 
from  city  to  city  by  those  who  admired  his  playing.  The 
following  is  a  specimen  of  his  style  of  composition — a 
toccata,  in  which  are  recognised  the  sturdy,  massive 
chord  effects,  and  also  the  florid,  figurated  style,  both  of 
which  are  obviously  derived  directly  from  and  dictated 
by  the  vocal  practices  of  the  time: 


INDEPENDENT  INSTRUMENTAL  STYLE     167 

Toccata. 


-^V  M  T  i 


ffi 


#^ 


^     ^     i     ^ 


"'     1    .1 


i    V 


^ 


m 


J>.e^  e-try-o-^^^Cc 


Frescobaldi's  most  noted  successor  in  Italy  was  Ber- 
nardo Pasquini  (163 7- 171  o). 

The  debt  which  all  musical  Europe  owed  to  the  Neth- 
erland  school  has  been  repeatedly  demonstrated,  in  con- 
nection with  vocal  music,  chiefly  within  the  church.  But 
the  influence  of  the  Dutch  masters,  in  providing  a  funda- 
ment for  future  structural  growth,  is  evident  also  in  the 
advancement  of  instrumental  music.  Both  Italian  and 
German  organists  derived  nourishment  from  this  source. 
Frescobaldi  himself  laid  the  foundation  of  his  mastership 
in  Flanders,  where,  at  that  time,  "organ  playing  attained 
eminent  standing.  Flanders,  Holland,  and  Brabant  gave 
many  fine  organists  to  the  world,  and  were,  so  to  speak, 
the  nursery  of  this  class  of  musicians," 

A  large  number  of  celebrated  German  musicians  re- 
ceived their  organ  training  directly  from  an  eminent  Am- 


i68 


ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


sterdam  master,  Jan  Pieters  Sweelinck  (himself  a  pupil 
of  Zarlino).  Foremost  among  these  was  Samuel  Scheldt, 
one  of  the  earliest  to  promote  the  art  of  organ  playing. 
Scheldt  was  born  at  Halle  in  1 587,  and  was,  therefore,  very 
nearly  contemporaneous  with  Frescobaldi  and  with  Hein- 
rich  Schiitz.  He  was  famous  for  his  treatment  of  the 
chorale,  which  was  far  more  animated  and  elaborate  than 
that  of  earlier  writers,  and  he  aimed  at  the  greatest  pos- 
sible richness  of  harmony  and  accuracy  of  expression. 

Another  eminent  German  organist  and  composer,  Jo- 
hann  Jacob  Froberger  (born  at  Halle  in  1605;  died  1667), 
was  a  pupil  of  Frescobaldi.  He  is  noted  for  his  achieve- 
ments in  the  fugue  form,  rescuing  it  from  neglect  and 
imparting  vitality  to  it  (modernising  it,  from  the  stand- 
point of  his  day).  The  fundamental  details  of  the  fugue 
were  still  more  firmly  established  and  the  character  of 
this  important  instrumental  form  more  definitely  devel- 
oped by  a  German  organist  of  fame,  Johann  Pachelbel 
(born  at  Nuremberg  in  1653;  died  1706  as  organist  of  the 
St,  Sebaldus  church  in  that  city).  In  his  works,  full  of 
originality  and  alert  imagination,  the  fetters  of  the  old 
ecclesiastic  mode  are  broken  and  the  two  universal  modes, 
major  and  minor,  assert  themselves  as  the  only  natural 
and  legitimate  tonalities.  The  subjects  of  Pachelbel's 
fugues  are  of  a  distinctly  instrumental  character  and 
indicate  an  advance  in  the  freedom  and  richness  of  mu- 
sical conception.     Thus: 


-m^lxaj'i 


INDEPENDENT  INSTRUMENTAL  STYLE     169 

Two  other  German  organists  of  this  period  are  worthy 
of  mention:  Dietrich  Buxtehude  (1637-1707)  and  Nicolas 
Bruhns  (1666-97),  both  of  whom  made  valuable  con- 
tributions to  the  organ  literature  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury. To  our  modern  ears  these  works  sound  dry  and 
are  not  calculated  to  hold  the  interest,  but  it  is  easy  to 
understand  the  admiration  they  excited  in  their  day  as 
models  of  symmetry,  animation,  and  originality. 


CHAPTER  XX 
INSTRUMENTAL  MUSIC 

THE    CLAVICHORD,    HARPSICHORD,    AND    OTHER    KEYBOARD 
INSTRUMENTS 

Of  no  less  significance  and  far  greater  popularity  than 
the  organ  were  the  clavichord  and  the  virginal,  the  two 
chief  varieties  of  stringed  instruments  with  a  manual  or 
keyboard,  the  forerunners  of  the  pianoforte.  The  two 
were  distinguished  to  some  slight  extent  in  outward  con- 
struction, but  chiefly  in  the  manner  of  tone  production. 
In  the  clavichord  the  strings  were  struck  from  below  by 
flat,  metal  pegs,  called  tangents,  inserted  at  the  farther 
end  of  the  wooden  strips  or  levers  whose  front  end  formed 
the  keys  of  the  manual.  In  the  square  virginal  (also 
called  spinet)  and  in  the  triangular-shaped  harpsichord 
(clavicymbal,  cembalo,  French  clavecin)  the  strings  were 
snapped  by  short,  thin  points  of  quill  driven  into  the 
side  of  the  wooden  lever.  From  this  quill  (Latin  spina) 
the  name  spinet  was  derived.  The  virginal  was  a  trifle 
smaller  than  the  spinet. 

These  instruments,  being  smaller  and  more  easily  con- 
structed than  the  organ,  and  simpler  in  their  manipula- 
tion, served  the  purposes  of  entertainment  and  instruction 
far  better  than  the  latter,  and  were,  therefore,  naturally 
calculated  to  become  more  popular.  The  organ  kept  its 
place  exclusively  in  the  church,  while  the  clavichord  and 
spinet  found  their  proper  abode  in  the  home. 

Who  the  inventor  of  these  instruments  was  will  never 
be  known.  It  is  certain  that  their  earliest  forms  date  no 
farther  back  than  the  fourteenth  century.     The  virginal 

170 


INSTRUMENTAL  MUSIC 


171 


From  the  Weimar  "Wunderbuch." 

PRIMITIVE  SPINET,   ABOUT   1440 


From  the  Weimar  "Wunderbuch." 

A  CLAVICHORD,  1440 


172        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

is  first  mentioned  in  151 1.  The  embryonic  forms  of  the 
stringed  instrument  with  keyboard  may  be  recognised  in 
two  ancient  mechanisms:  the  monochord,  from  which  the 
clavichord  family  proceeded,  and  the  antique  psalter,  the 
remote  progenitor  of  the  harpsichord  and  spinet. 


ITALIAN   SPINET 


The  monochord,  used  in  its  primary  form  by  the  Greeks, 
was  not  a  musical  but  a  mechanical  device  consisting,  as 
the  name  implies,  of  one  string,  divisible  by  means  of  a 
movable  bridge  (somewhat  like  the  strings  of  a  violin, 
altered  in  length  by  the  moving  finger  of  the  player). 
To  obviate  the  inconvenient  shifting  of  the  bridge,  a  set 
of  keys  (claves)  was  attached,  with  metal  pegs,  which, 
striking  the  string  in  different  places,  produced  the  corre- 
sponding tones.  In  the  subsequent  clavichord,  the  num- 
ber of  strings  was  increased,  but  one  string  still  served 
for  two  or  more  tones  by  being  thus  struck  at  different 


INSTRUMENTAL  MUSIC 


173 


points.  The  transition  from  the  monochord  to  the  clavi- 
chord is  represented  by  the  dulcimer,  a  very  old  instrument 
of  German  origin.  It  consisted  of  several  metal  strings, 
stretched  over  a  long  wooden  box,  tuned  by  means  of 


DULCIMER 


pegs,  and  struck  with  diminutive  mallets  of  wood  or  felt, 
manipulated  by  the  hand  and  dropped  upon  the  strings 
from  above. 

The  combination  of  these  two  gave  rise,  about  1500,  to 
the  clavichord.  The  strings,  usually  of  brass  wire,  were 
stretched  over  the  surface  of  a  sounding  board  or  box, 
and  gave  forth  their  tone  by  being  struck  with  the  thin 
metal  tangent  at  the  end  of  the  wooden  rod  extending  to 


174        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


the  kej'board.  The  tone  was  dehcate  and  characteristic 
enough  to  give  birth  to  a  specific  style  of  instrumental 
music.     The  first  instrument  of  this  kind  in  which  there 

was  a  separate  string 
for  each  key,  is  said 
to  have  been  con- 
structed in  1725  by 
Daniel  Faber,  an 
organist  at  Crailsheim 
in  Wiirttemberg. 

At  first  the  clavi- 
chord had  twenty 
keys,  with  a  compass 
of  two  and  a  half  oc- 
taves; all  of  the  keys 
were  white  except  B 
flat,  which  was  black; 
later  the  number  of 
keys  was  increased  to 
twenty-two,  and, 
upon  the  addition  of 
the  chromatic  tones, 
to  thirtj^-eight.  About 
1600  it  had  a  compass 
of  about  four  octaves; 
the  lower  keys  were 
then  black,  the  upper 
ones  white;  it  had,  as 
a  rule,  no  legs,  but  was 
placed  upon  a  table. 
As  to  the  other  family,  the  harpsichord  and  spinet,  it 
had,  like  the  ancient  psalter,  a  separate  string  for  each 
tone,  of  proportionate  length.  The  tone  of  the  psalter 
was  produced  by  means  of  a  brass  or  ivory  plectrum  in 
the  player's  hand,  with  which  the  strings  were  struck  or 
snapped.  This  instrument  developed  also  about  the  year 
1500  into  the  harpsichord  (clavicymbal,  virginal  or  spinet) 


UPRIGHT   HARPSICHORD 


INSTRUMENTAL  MUSIC 


175 


by  substituting  a  set  of  quill  points  for  the  plectrum. 
The  approximately  triangular  form  of  the  psalter  was 
retained,  at  least  in  the  clavicymbal  and  harpsichord, 
which  had  the  appearance  of  a  small  harp  laid  upon  its 
side.  The  virginal  and  spinet  were  nearly  or  quite  rec- 
tangular. 

In  every  outward  respect,  the  instruments  of  both 
classes  were  practically  alike;  they  differed  (i),  as  has 
been  seen,  in  the  mode  of  producing  the  tone;  (2)  while 
the  clavichord  was  single-strung,  the  virginal  was  often 
double  or  triple  strung  (z.  ^,,  in  "choirs,"  more  than  one 
string  for  the  same  tone);  (3)  the  harpsichord  often  had 
two  banks  of  keys,  one  above  the  other,  as  on  the  organ, 
and  a  sort  of  damper,  shifted  by  hand. 


II 


(With  movable 

MONOCHORD 

PSALTER 

(With  metal  or 

bridge  or 

ivory     plec- 

with  keys.) 

trums  in  the 
hand.) 

I 
Square 

2 
Triangular 

(With  felt  ham- 

Hackbrett (Ger.). 

Spinett  (Ger.) 

.     Harpsichord. 

(Snapped  with 

mers,    struck 

Dulcimer. 

Spinette  (Fr.) 

.     Clavicymbal 

quill    points 

by  hand 

(Ger.). 

from     key- 

from above.) 

Psalter  (modern). 

Virginal 

Clavicymbalum. 

board.) 

(Eng.). 

Spinetto  (It.) 

Clavicembalo 
(It.)     or 

Buonaccordo 

Cembalo. 

(It.). 

(With   metal 

Clavichord. 

Clavecin  (Fr.). 

pegs  from  be- 

low, with  key- 

board.) 

(With  felt  ham- 

Klavier (Ger.). 

Forte-piano, 

Piano-e-forte,     Pianoforte,     Grand 

mers      from 

piano,  Fliigel  (Ger.),  Pianino  or 

Upright. 

below,    with 

keyboard.) 

Of  the  remarkably  large  number  of  experimental  varie- 
ties of  keyboard  instruments  invented  in  the  sixteenth 
and  seventeenth  centuries  as  fancied  improvements  upon 
the  clavichord   and   harpsichord,   none  was  to  prove  of 


176        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

lasting  value  until  the  attempt  was  made  by  Bartolommeo 
Cristofori,  of  Padua,  in  171 1,  to  devise  a  means  of  modi- 
fying the  tone,  and  in  a  sense  combining  the  advantages 
of  both  classes.    The  instrument  he  made  was  most  closely 


CRISTOFORI   PIANO 


related  to  the  clavichord,  as  the  strings  were  struck  from 
below,  not  by  metal  tangents,  however,  but  by  small  felt 
hammers.  The  tone  which  was  thus  produced  proved  to 
be  susceptible  of  considerable  modification;  it  could  be 
made  long  or  short  {legato  or  staccato),  and  either  loud  or 
soft.  For  the  latter  reason,  which  was  considered  the 
most  significant,  the  new  instrument  was  called  forte-e- 
piano  (loud  and  soft)  or  forte-piano,  and  later,  pianoforte, 
which  novel  designation  it  has  ever  since  retained. 

It   is   natural   that   the   development   of  any   style   of 


INSTRUMENTAL  MUSIC  177 

music  must  go  hand  in  hand  with  the  technical  and  me- 
chanical perfection  of  the  instrument  for  which  it  is  de- 
signed. The  methods  of  execution  upon  these  keyboard 
instruments,  especially  as  concerns  the  fingering,  were  so 
singularly  awkward  and  clumsy  that  one  wonders  how  it 
was  possible  to  obtain  an}^  satisfactory  results  with  them. 
At  first  only  the  three  middle  fingers  were  used;  the 
thumb  and  little  finger  but  rarely;  and  this  most  unnat- 
ural and  apparently  needless  restriction  was  tolerated  for 
a  full  century.  As  late  as  1735  the  famous  player  and 
composer,  Mattheson,  fingered  the  C  major  scale  in  a 
manner  which  would  seem  to  us  to  preclude  all  progress. 
He  magnanimously  admits,  however,  that  "you  will  find 
almost  as  many  different  methods  of  so-called  fingering 
{applicatur)  as  there  are  players.  Some  run  with  four 
fingers,  others  with  five,  while  others,  again,  get  along 
almost  as  briskly  with  only  two.  Nor  is  this  of  any 
consequence  as  long  as  one  adopts  some  definite  system 
and  adheres  to  it." 

In  his  famous  pianoforte  method  {Versuche  iiber  die 
wahre  Art,  das  Klavier  zu  spielen,  1759),  Philipp  Emanuel 
Bach  says:  "  As  our  ancestors  very  seldom  made  any  use 
of  the  thumb,  it  was  usually  in  their  way;  consequently 
they  often  had  too  many  fingers.  Nowada3's  we  are 
sometimes  conscious  of  having  too  few,  notwithstanding 
the  more  rational  use  of  them  in  our  present  style  of 
music.  I  have  often  heard  m}^  deceased  father  [the 
great  Johann  Sebastian  Bach]  say  that  he  had  fre- 
quently seen  great  players  in  his  youth  who  never  used 
the  thumb  except  in  wide  stretches,  where  it  was  unavoid- 
able." Couperin,  in  his  equally  famous  method  (L'art 
de  toucher  le  Clavecin,  1716),  already  taught  a  more  gen- 
eral use  of  all  five  fingers.  It  was  the  elder  Bach,  how- 
ever, who  appears  to  have  first  advocated  the  cultivation 
and  employment  of  all  five  fingers  equally.  Of  this,  his 
Well-Tempered  Clavichord  and  other  works  bear  unques- 
tionable testimony. 


178        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

All  this  affords  the  reader  a  gUmpse  of  the  array  of 
obstacles  which  the  art  had  to  overcome,  and  increases 
his  appreciation  not  only  of  our  present  pianoforte  style 
but  of  the  esteem  due  to  the  admirable  compositions  of 
earlier  days,  conceived  and  executed  under  such  limita- 
tions as  were  imposed  by  the  crudeness  both  of  the 
theory  and  the  mechanical  vehicles  of  musical  expression. 

The  tone  of  all  these  instruments  was,  as  intimated, 
delicate,  though  possessed  of  a  certain  keenness  and  pene- 
tration and  of  very  brief  resonance.  The  so-called  mani- 
eres,  or  embellishments  (grace-notes),  were  doubtless  often 
introduced  chiefly  for  the  purpose  of  prolonging  the  res- 
onance of  certain  tones  of  the  melody — though,  of  course, 
they  also  partly  originated  in  the  imitation  of  the  orna- 
ments (coloratures)  so  common  and  essential  in  vocal 
arias. 


CHAPTER  XXI 
CULTIVATION  OF  THE  CLAVICHORD  STYLE 

OTHER    INSTRUMENTS.       THE    PRIMARY    ORCHESTRA 

In  the  art  of  clavichord  playing  and  composition,  the 
French  and  ItaHans  kept  up  an  even  contest  for  suprem- 
acy for  a  long  time.  France  possessed  the  greater  num- 
ber of  distinguished  clavichordists,  while  Italy  continued 
to  produce  the  best  singers  and  violinists. 

In  France  three  masters  appeared  at  an  early  date 
who  laboured  with  marked  success  in  establishing  a  dis- 
tinct clavichord  style:  Denis  Gaultier  (about  1605); 
Georg  Mufifat  (from  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury until  1704);  and  Franfois  Couperin  (born  in  Paris 
in  1668;  died  1733). 

The  most  popular  instrumental  forms  of  the  time, 
created  by  these  and  other  writers  in  all  countries,  were 
the  toccata,  ricercar,  fugue,  fantasie,  capriccio,  aria  (not 
vocal)  with  or  without  so-called  doubles  (variations),  and, 
more  especially,  the  numerous  forms  of  the  dance  (alle- 
mande,  bourree,  chaconne,  courante,  gavotte,  gigue,  me- 
nuet,  passacagha,  pavane,  passepied,  polonaise,  rigaudon, 
sarabande,  etc.),  which  were  commonly  published  col- 
lectively under  the  title  of  suite. 

The  suite  was  probably  of  French  origin,  dating  from 
the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century.  It  often  con- 
tained, besides  the  dances,  other  more  scholastic  forms  of 
composition,  such  as  the  prelude,  fugue,  rondeau,  scherzo, 
etc.  In  Italy  the  term  partita  was  often  applied  to  it, 
and  also  the  designation  sonata  da  camera  in  distinction  to 

179 


i8o        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


the  sacred  concerto  known  as  sonata  da  chiese.  (Neither 
of  these  should  be  confounded  with  the  modern  sonata, 
though  the  relation  is  apparent.)  The  sonata  (from 
sonus,  sound;  signifying  a  "structure  of  sounds,"  and 
thus  distinguished  from  the  vocal  cantata,  from  cantare^ 
to  sing)  appears  to  have  been  originally,  at  a  very  early 
date,  also  a  vocal  composition  allied  to  the  motette.  Later 
on  it  was  a  brief  instrumental  introduction  to  larger  vocal 
forms  (in  which  case  it  also  bore  the  name  sinfonia). 

In  its  present  modern  col- 
lective form  of  three  or  four 
movements,  the  sonata  was 
derived  in  some  degree  from 
the  suite,  which  it  partly  suc- 
ceeded and  eventually  super- 
seded; but  it  does  appear 
contemporaneously  with  the 
suite,  as  a  composition  in  one 
movement.  This  sonata  in 
one  movement  was  the  most 
perfect  and  scholarly  form  of 
this  whole  early  instrumental 
era,  as  it  is  to-day,  with  its 
orchestral  counterpart  (the 
symphony),  the  most  distinguished  of  all  the  forms  of 
absolute  music.  Its  most  eminent  promoter  was  Domenico 
Scarlatti  (the  younger),  who  gave  it  those  fundamental 
structural  traits  which,  with  some  important  modifica- 
tions, form  the  ground-plan  of  the  modern  sonata- 
allegro. 

The  earliest  suites  consisted  usually  of  dances,  but  the 
name  suite  (and  also  partita)  was  also  given  to  a  series 
of  variations  of  a  small  dance  in  period  form,  like  the 
chaconne  and  passacaglia.  The  suite  was  most  popular 
in  France,  while  in  Italy  preference  was  given  to  the 
sonata  and  partita.  The  instrumental  styles  of  these 
two   countries   differed   so   essentially   in   the   eighteenth 


FRANCOIS   COUPERIN 


THE  CLAVICHORD  STYLE 


i«i 


century  that   the  terms   French   style   and   Italian  style 
were  common  and  decidedly  distinctive. 

Of  the  numerous  works  of  Fran9ois  Couperin,  one  of 
the  most  prominent  figures  in  French  musical  history  in 
the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  Pieces  de 
Clavecin  are  the  most  remarkable.  They  consist  chiefly 
of  the  dances  in  vogue  at  that  time,  but  contain  also 
pieces  of  a  more  general  character,  conspicuous  among 
which  is  the  rondeau  (rondo).  This  latter  was  then  the 
most  popular  instrumental  form  and  was  based  upon  the 
idea  of  alternation — the  alternation  of  a  principal  period 
with  one  or  more  subordinate  periods;  thus  it  embodied 
the  fundamental  condition  of  instrumental  music,  the 
clarity  and  effectiveness  of  which  are  dependent  upon 
just  such  thematic  oppositions  and  confirmations  as  the 
rondo  (and  also  the  sonata)  affords.  The  following  ron- 
deau illustrates  Couperin's  style: 


rsr 


te 


i--ii^Ji  r 


m 


^^ 


A.  CO 


r^=? 


t=3ZS 


Oi- 


rbn 


n-n 


Ui 


^ 


^=^ 


^^ 


i  1   I 


? 


>^ 


-1^^ 
E 


m 


21 


^ 


jr. 


^ 


/^_^uM&£' 


'f?) 


i,iJl    r 


i  1-:  T  i  \^{ 


a 


■  ri 


"ife#kfl-»t 


-^"  --T^.    n^'.a.A  f^"'* 


a^  /'iAc-t.<,ViA*«<^ 


f: 


'UryLcLiXiuLJ^ ,   /rO^-'-^x-'J-eoC  S^ 


J.  ABc*«AA<«*«<; 


i82        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

Couperin's  historic  successor  was  Jean  Philippe  Rameau 
(born,  1683,  at  Dijon;  died,  1764,  at  Paris).  Rameau  was 
the  first  to  publish  a  theoretical  work  in  the  sense  of  the 
modern  text-book  on  harmony;  it  was  entitled  Trea- 
tise on  Harmony,  Reduced  to  Its  Natural  Principles.  It 
appeared  in  1722  (about  the  same  time  that  Bach's  Well- 
Tempered  Clavichord  Wcis  published  in  Germany),  and  was 
the  first  example  in  history  of  an  attempt  to  present  a 

system  of  harmony  or 
chord  combination  in 
the  form  of  a  well- 
grounded  and  carefully 
investigated  theory. 
Prior  to  this  the  theory 
of  composition  was 
taught  under  the  name 
of  counterpoint,  but 
thereafter  these  two 
phases  of  theory  were 
always  separately  taught 
and  applied.  Rameau's 
J.  PH.  RAMEAU  method,  though   experi- 

mental, was  the  basis 
for  all  subsequent  treatises  for  nearly  one  hundred  and 
fifty  years,  and  many  of  his  deductions  and  rules  are  still 
recognised  as  fundamentally  valid.  Rameau's  clavichord 
pieces  were  extremely  popular,  and  he  was  also  actively 
engaged  in  operatic  composition. 

In  Italy,  Girolamo  Frescobaldi  was  followed  by  the 
two  Scarlattis,  Alessandro  and  his  son  Domenico.  By 
far  the  more  eminent  in  the  history  of  music  in  general, 
and  clavichord  composition  particularly,  was  the  younger, 
Domenico  Scarlatti,  who  is  justly  regarded  as  the  most 
distinguished  clavicymbalist  (and  also  organist),  both  as 
composer  and  player,  of  this  era.  He  was  born  in  1683 
(two  years  before  Bach  and  Handel)  in  Naples;  he  lived 
for  a  time  in  Lisbon  and  Madrid,  returned  in   1725  to 


THE  CLAVICHORD  STYLE 


183 


his  native  country,  and  died  in  1757  (one  year  after  the 
birth  of  Mozart). 

It  is  scarcely  possible  to  overestimate  the  influence  ex- 
erted by  Domenico  Scarlatti  upon  the  advance  of  musical 


i^eciye^ 


gj^j^', 


i^ijrrixi 


i— i  J^  •l^-'-l  _p 


i^ 


art,  especially  that  of  instrumental  or  absolute  music. 
Many  of  his  pieces  for  the  clavichord  are  still  considered 
admirable,  and  in  originality,  purity  of  style,  and  beauty 
of  detail  they  rank  with  the  best  that  the  art  produced 


i84        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


during  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century.  To  his 
great  contemporaries,  Bach  and  Handel,  he  was  inferior 
only  in  breadth  and  versatility  of  genius. 

In  England  instrumental  music  was  also  an  object  of 
serious  and  wide-spread  cultivation.  The  most  promi- 
nent composers  were  Thomas  Tallis  (died  1585),  his  pupil 


k^=:f^ 


-smvmi^^i 


fcg; 


T     -r 


! L_U i   Ml 


^^m 


'ffe'yf.n^  ftjcn-cSi^K. 


^m 


?rJ. 


1    J 


.:&. 


^ 


? 


William  Byrd  (died  1623),  Giles  Farnaby,  Thomas  Morley 
(died  1604),  John  Bull,  Orlando  Gibbons  (i 583-1625), 
and  Pelham  Humphrey  (1647-74) — all  musicians  of  skill 
and  scholarship,  though  it  cannot  be  asserted  that  their 
contributions  to  instrumental  literature  were  of  striking 
originality  or  lasting  worth.  They  devoted  their  atten- 
tion mainly  to  dances,  in  the  French  style,  and  to  pop- 
ular pieces.  The  greatest  native  English  composer  was 
Henry  Purcell  (1658-95),  a  genius  of  real  power  of  whom 
more  will  be  said  in  connection  with  the  opera. 


THE  CLAVICHORD   STYLE 


185 


In  no  countr}"  was  the  growth  of  instrumental  music 
more  rapid  and  vigorous  than  in  Germany.  One  of  the 
earhest  clavichord  composers  of  this  country,  was  Johann 
Kuhnau.  This  original  and  masterly  writer  (born  1667; 
died  1722 — ten  years  before  the  birth  of  Haydn),  was 
Bach's  predecessor  as  cantor  and  organist  of  St.  Thomas's 
school  in  Leipsic.  One  of 
Kuhnau's  most  interesting 
creations  was  a  collection  of 
six  Biblical  Histories,  with 
additional  explanatory 
notes,  in  the  form  of  sonatas 
for  the  clavichord,  pub- 
lished in  1700.  Each  one  of 
the  six  is  accompanied  b}' 
a  so-called  programme  de- 
scribing the  music  and  its 
illustrative  purpose;  for  ex- 
ample, No.  2  bears  the  su- 
perscription: Saul,  cured  of 
his  disorder  by  the  music  of 
David.  The  sonata  represented  (i)  Saul's  depression  and 
foolishness;  (2)  David's  exhilarating  harp  playing;  (3) 
the  kmg's  pacified  spirit. 

This  is  another  illustration  of  the  apparent  instinctive 
inclination  among  music  lovers  to  recognise  descriptive 
qualities  in  music — even  when  instrumental — and  to  em- 
ploy it  in  the  suggestion  and  direct  illustration  of  physi- 
cal and  emotional  movements.  The  error  committed  by 
many  of  these  older  writers  appears  to  be  that  they  car- 
ried the  idea  to  what  impresses  us  as  an  absurd  extreme. 
The  practice  was  very  common,  and  many  compositions 
received  descriptive  titles  sometimes  both  absurd  and  inap- 
propriate. This  is  seen  in  the  writings  of  Rameau,  Cou- 
perin,  English  composers,  and  even  the  great  Bach;  and 
the  custom  has  not  yet  wholly  died  out — in  fact,  in  recent 
times  it  appears  to  have  been  revived,  but  in  a  far  more 


JOHANN   KUHNAU 


i86        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


artistic  and  serious  fashion,  in  the  tone-poems  of  Liszt 
and  others. 


n^n  i,i 


^l&yfCa^it-^t,    /\(A-J^yK.ty 


s 


1   f^\^\ 


^ 


m 


^ 


A. 


^ 


^ 


^ 


=F 


Theophile  Muffat  (son  of  Georg  MufFat  and  pupil  of 
Joseph  Fux)  was  more  distinctively  German  than  his 
father,  who  is  usually  assigned  to  the  French  school. 
Theophile  was  born  in  Vienna  and  hved  during  the  first 
half  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Another  very  popular 
clavichord  composer  was  Johann  Mattheson  (1681-1764), 
who  will  be  considered  later. 

As  to  the  other  musical  instruments  which  were  used 


THE  CLAVICHORD  STYLE  187 

partly  for  solo  performance  but  chiefly  as  accompani- 
ment, and  out  of  the  combination  of  which  the  complete 
orchestra  was  ultimately  to  emerge,  it  suffices  to  say  that 
each  separate  instrument  (of  brass,  or  wood,  or  with 
strings)  became  the  object  of  mechanical  investigation 
and  improvement  until  it  reached  its  highest  grade  of 
technical  structure  and  efficiency.  As  far  as  popularity 
and  general  usefulness  are  concerned,  the  lute  assumed, 
no  doubt,  the  foremost  rank  during  the  early  centuries 
of  musical  practice.  But  it  was  not  calculated  to  serve 
artistic  purposes,  and,  although  constructed  in  a  wide 
variety  of  forms  and  sizes  and  used  a  great  deal  by 
early  instrumental  composers,  and  in  accompaniments, 
the  lute  was  never  considered  worthy  of  a  place  in  the 
later  orchestra  and  has,  therefore,  become  almost  ob- 
solete. 

The  instrument  that  proved  its  artistic  superiority  and 
adaptability  was  the  violin.  This  attained  a  degree  of 
perfection  at  Cremona,  in  Italy  (in  the  period  from  1600 
to  1745),  never  since  quite  equalled,  through  the  persis- 
tent and  skilful  efforts  of  the  Amatis,  Guarneris,  and 
Antonio  Stradivari. 

The  greatest  violin  players  and  composers  were  Giu- 
seppe Torelli  (died  1708),  Arcangelo  Corelli  (1653-1713), 
Giuseppe  Tartini  (1692-1770),  and,  later,  Giovanni  Battista 
Viotti  (1753-1824). 

The  family  of  stringed  instruments  played  with  bow — 
the  violin,  viola  (da  braccia),  violoncello,  and  contrabass 
— constituted  then,  as  now,  the  fundament  of  the  orches- 
tra, to  complete  which  it  was  only  necessary  to  add  the 
wind  instruments  of  wood  and  of  brass.  The  division  of 
every  class  of  instruments  into  groups  (choirs  or  families) 
of  four  or  five,  differing  in  register  and  corresponding 
originally  to  the  different  vocal  parts,  was  practised  as 
early  as  the  fifteenth  century.  Agricola  (in  1529)  speaks 
of  a  quartet  of  "little  violas  of  three  strings."  Michael 
Praetorius  (in  1619)  mentions   the   use   of  three-stringed 


ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


violas  in  part-music.  In  his  day,  in  Germany,  a  complete 
quintet  was  employed  (presumably,  violin,  viola,  viola  da 
gamba,  violoncello,  and  contrabass),  a  fourth  lower  in 
pitch  than  similar  instruments  in  Italy.  The  term  vio- 
lino  first  appears  in  a  book  dated  1533,  though  it  is  not 
known  to  what  this  refers — ^probably  a  little  viola,  called 
later  violetta.  The  earliest  explicit  mention  of  the  name 
"violin"  occurs  in  a  treatise  published  in  1596,  where  its 

compass  is  given  exactly 
as  fixed  to-day.  The  first 
certain  employment  of 
the  violin  appears  to 
have  taken  place  in  Mon- 
teverde's  Orfeo  (1607), 
where  it  is  spoken  of  as 
a  violino  piccolo. 

A  body  of  instrumen- 
talists in  the  sense  of  the 
modern  orchestra  (wind 
and  strmgs)  is  first  men- 
tioned by  a  German,  Johann  Pezelius,  in  1675,  who  asso- 
ciated two  violins,  cornet,  flute,  clarions,  clarionets,  and 
bassoons.  In  the  same  year  Johann  Caspar  Horn's  famous 
Parergon  musicum  was  published,  consisting  of  dances  for 
two  choruses,  with  violins,  flutes,  cornets,  shawms,  and  the 
basso  continue  (probably  played,  as  was  quite  universal, 
upon  a  bass  lute).  Gabrieli,  in  Ital}^,  commenced  to  as- 
sociate various  instruments;  but  the  orchestra,  as  a  unified 
and  properly  balanced  body,  was  not  fully  organised  until 
the  days  of  Haydn  (middle  of  the  eighteenth  century). 
Greater  stress  was  naturally  laid  at  first  upon  the  culti- 
vation of  the  single  instruments  for  solos  or  for  small  en- 
semble performances,  thus  assuring  the  full  recognition 
of  the  qualities  and  the  technical  perfection  of  each  and 
gradually  determining  its  degree  of  fitness  for  concerted 
employment. 

The  wind   instruments    in    most   common    use   appear 


ANTONIO  STRADIVARI 


THE  CLAVICHORD  STYLE  189 

to  have  been  those  of  metal — the  trumpets,  trombones, 
horns,  etc. — which  very  frequently  formed  a  choir  by 
themselves  in  the  church  service  and  in  chorale  elabora- 
tions. Next  in  popularity  to  these  stood  the  oboes, 
clarionets,  flutes,  and  other  wood-wind  instruments,  the 
mechanical  perfection  of  which  is,  however,  of  compar- 
atively recent  date.  It  was  customary  to  use,  also,  one 
or  more  virginals  or  clavichords  in  accompaniments. 
These,  however,  in  their  present  form  of  the  pianoforte, 
are  no  longer  admitted  to  the  orchestra,  their  place  there 
being  now  taken  by  the  harp. 

The  development  of  an  orchestral  body  was  powerfully 
furthered  by  the  forms  of  dramatic  music  which  con- 
stantly increased  in  popularity  and  magnitude,  steadily 
approached  a  higher  artistic  aim  and  achievement,  and 
stood  in  need  of  instrumental  reinforcement  and  resources. 


CHAPTER  XXII 
DRAMATIC  MUSIC  IN  ITALY 

LATER    ERA 

In  consequence  of  the  luxuriant  growth  of  dramatic 
song  the  serious  a  cappella  style  of  the  Roman  Church 
gradually  gave  place,  in  Italy,  to  a  wholly  new  mode  of 
musical  conception  and  utterance.  Monteverde,  Cavalli, 
and  Cesti  had  already  found  the  beginnings  of  a  new 
musical  language  better  suited  to  the  expression  of  human 
passion;  Carissimi  had  extended,  enriched,  and  intensi- 
fied this  language;  and  his  great  successor,  Alessandro 
Scarlatti,  marks  the  inauguration  of  a  most  brilliant  era 
of  Italian  dramatic  art.  The  earliest  and  chief  centre 
of  activity  was  at  Naples,  and  the  array  of  masters 
engaged  there  in  the  creation  of  dramatic  works  (espe- 
cially operas)  were  known  as  the  Younger  Neapolitan 
School. 

To  this  era  belong,  first,  two  scholars  of  Scarlatti, 
Francesco  Durante  and  Leonardo  Leo,  who  head  the  mas- 
ters of  the  younger  Neapolitan  school.  Durante  was 
born  in  1684  (one  year  before  Handel  and  Bach)  at 
Fratta  Maggiore,  studied  at  first  with  Alessandro  Scar- 
latti, then  in  Rome  with  Pasquini;  later  he  became  chap- 
elmaster  in  Naples,  where  he  died  in  1755.  He  was 
Scarlatti's  inferior  in  point  of  dramatic  talent,  but  his 
works  exhibit  a  certain  thoroughness  and  brilliancy.  His 
orchestra  was  still  primitive,  though  he  began  to  make  use 
of  flutes,  oboes,  bassoons,  horns,  and  trumpets. 

Leonardo  Leo  was  born  in  1694,  followed  a  career  very 

190 


DRAMATIC   MUSIC  IN   ITALY  191 

similar  to  that  of  Durante,  and  died  in  1744.  His  melo- 
dies were  more  flowing  and  graceful  than  those  of  his 
contemporary,  but  also  more  effeminate.  Leo  was  the 
favourite  of  all  Italy.  He  wrote  about  forty  operas,  sev- 
eral oratorios,  and  a  multitude  of  sacred  works,  mostly 
with  orchestral  accompaniment.  A  closer  imitator  of 
Durante  was  Francesco  Feo,  born,  1699,  '^^  Naples.  His 
works,  both  sacred  and  secular,  were  noted  in  their  time 
for  their  purity  and  solidity  but  were  soon  forgotten. 

Another  noteworth}"  pupd  of  Scarlatti  was  Nicolo  Por- 
pora  (later  the  teacher  of  Joseph  Haydn),  born  1685. 
He  was  the  author  of  a  large  number  of  operas,  many  of 
them  written  for  the  London  stage,  where  he  was  engaged, 
in  1733,  as  composer  and  director;  he  was  exactly  the 
same  age  as  Handel,  and  died  in  1766.  Porpora  was 
more  famous  as  vocal  pedagogue  than  as  composer. 

To  the  next  generation  of  Neapolitan  tone-masters 
belonged,  first  and  foremost,  Giovanni  Battista  Pergolesi, 
born  1710,  died  1736  (at  the  age  of  twenty-six  years). 
In  the  opera  seria  he  was  unsuccessful,  owing  to  his  lack 
of  talent  and  experience  concerning  dramatic  effects,  and 
his  want  of  the  power  and  versatility  requisite  for  larger 
creations.  On  the  other  hand,  his  comic  intermezzo, 
La  serva  padrone,  was  enormously  successful,  especially 
in  Paris.  The  historian  Fetis  speaks  of  it  as  "  a  master- 
piece of  ethereal  melody,  elegance,  and  genuine  dramatic 
form."  His  last  work,  a  famous  Stabat  Mater,  has  main- 
tained its  place  in  the  admiration  of  music  lovers  to  the 
present  day,  though  critics  differ  widely  in  their  judgment 
of  its  real  merit. 

The  next  composer  of  renown  was  Nicolo  Jommelli, 
born,  1714,  near  Naples.  He  appears  to  have  been  an 
erratic  genius,  more  gifted  and  brilliant  than  diligent. 
In  1754  he  became  director  and  composer  to  the  king 
in  Stuttgart,  where  he  remained  until  1765,  when  he 
returned  to  Naples,  and  there  died  in  1774  (four  years 
after  Beethoven's  birth). 


192 


ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


Probably  the  most  distinguished  of  all  the  representa- 
tives of  the  Neapolitan  school  was  Nicolo  Piccini,  born 
1728  (four  years  before  Haydn);  he  studied  with  Durante 


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and  Leo  and  presented  his  first  opera,  Le  donne  dispet- 
tose,  at  the  age  of  twenty-six,  in  the  theatre  at  Florence. 
His  greatest  success  was  won  with  the  comic  opera 
Cecchi?ia,  written  for  Rome  in  1761,  which  was  on  the 
stage    almost    uninterruptedly    and   spread   into    all   the 


DRAMATIC  MUSIC  IN  ITALY 


193 


musical  cities  of  Europe;  it  became  so  famous  that  Pic- 
cini's  method  of  handhng  the  opera  huffa  (comic  opera) 
was  recognised  as  standard,  and  he  was  called  the  re- 
generator of  that  style.  He  is  accredited  with  being  the 
first  to  adjust  the  aria  to  the  design  of  the  rondo  form. 
In  the  course  of  the  ensuing  fort}^  j^ears  Piccini  composed 
no  fewer  than  eight}^  operas  besides  a  number  of  oratorios. 
In  1776  he  went  to  Paris,  where  he  became  the  head  of  a 
strong  rival  faction  opposed  to  Gluck,  in  which  connec- 
tion we  shall  again  consider  his 
career.     Piccini  died  in  1800. 

Another  renowned  pupil  of 
Durante  was  Giovanni  Paesi- 
ello,  born,  1741,  at  Tarento. 
His  artistic  career  opened  with 
two  comic  operas  written  for 
the  Bologna  stage,  La  Pupilla 
and  //  mondo  at  rovescio;  these 
were  followed — up  to  the  year 
1803 — by  ninety  others,  partly 
serious  but  chiefly  comic.  He 
died  in  1816. 

The  remarkable  progress  thus 
made  by  the  Italian  opera,  subsequent  to  Alessandro 
Scarlatti,  extended  principally  in  the  direction  of  purely 
vocal  art,  while  the  dramatic  contents  were  proportion- 
ately neglected.  The  melody  expanded  to  broader  dimen- 
sions, and  its  rhythmic  members  assumed  greater  regu- 
larity and  symmetry. 

In  the  early  days  of  monody  the  melody  of  the  opera 
and  oratorio  was  composed  of  brief  members,  the  sec- 
tions were  short,  cadences  frequent,  and  the  aria,  as  a 
whole,  stunted,  undeveloped,  and  unfinished.  The 
younger  generation  elaborated  and  sj^stematised  the 
structural  form  and  created  that  broad  three-part  de- 
sign (with  a  middle  section  and  a  da  capo)  which  was 
universally   adopted   and   cultivated   under  the   designa- 


NICOLO  PICCINI 


194        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


tion  "grand  aria."  (This  form  was  naturally  utilised  in 
instrumental  composition  also  and  became  the  basis  of 
the  great  majority  of  subsequent  forms — in  fact,  the 
chief  structural  idea  according  to  which  all  homophonic 
forms  and  even  the  larger  sonata  and  symphony  designs 
were    modelled.)     But   the    more   their   interest    centred 

thus  in  the  vocal  ele- 
ment, the  less  attention 
was  directed  to  the  dra- 
matic purpose,  which 
was  supposedly  the 
prime  object  of  the  en- 
tire creation.  The  re- 
sult was,  of  course,  that 
all  dramatic  conditions 
became  of  decidedly  in- 
ferior significance,  and 
the  art  and  practice  of 
vocalism  soon  asserted 
themselves  as  principal 
aims.  The  dramatic 
characters  sank  into 
mere  vocal  instruments; 
the  aria,  as  brilliant 
vocal  show  piece,  sup- 
planted the  other  ele- 
ments; duets  and  en- 
sembles were  rare;  and  the  chorus  had  but  a  very 
unimportant  role,  or  none  at  all.  This,  again,  influ- 
enced and  degraded  the  text  (libretto),  which  soon  sacri- 
ficed its  dignity  and  dramatic  sense.  The  composers 
catered  to  the  singers  and  were  but  too  ready  to  devote 
their  efforts  and  melodic  inspirations  to  the  growing  rage 
for  technical  display,  virtuoso  colorature,  and  bravour 
arias.  Hence  the  discredit  into  which  the  Italian  opera 
fell  and  the  contempt  with  which,  to  the  present  day, 
many  of  the  older  types  of  this  class  are  regarded,  as 


GIOVANNI   PAESIELLO 


DRAMATIC  MUSIC  IN  ITALY  195 

far  as  libretto  and  dramatic  action  and  purpose  are 
concerned. 

While  the  school  at  Naples  was  thus  flooding  Europe 
with  its  attractive  and,  in  some  respects,  admirable  prod- 
ucts, the  rest  of  Italy  was  by  no  means  idle.  In  Rome, 
Venice,  Bologna,  and  other  cities  composers  of  more  or 
less  celebrity  were  active,  addmg  their  voices  to  the  vic- 
torious chant  of  Italian  operatic  art. 

In  Rome,  where  the  music  of  the  church  would  be 
expected  to  receive,  naturally,  more  zealous  cultivation 
than  that  of  the  secular  drama,  there  were,  nevertheless, 
several  eminent  masters  busily  engaged  in  the  new  and 
popular  domain  of  composition.  Among  these  were  Giu- 
seppe Ottavio  Pitoni  (1657-1743);  Bernardo  Pasquini 
(1637-1710),  Frescobaldi's  successor  in  the  field  of  organ 
virtuosity;  Francesco  Gasparini  (1668-1737),  teacher  of 
Domenico  Scarlatti,  composer  of  about  thirty  much-ad- 
mired operas  and  the  author  of  an  interesting  and  valu- 
able text-book  on  Thorough-Bass  (the  term,  equivalent 
to  figured  bass,  is  derived  somewhat  clumsily  from 
basso  continuo  or  continuous  bass);  and  Agostino  Stef- 
fani  (1655-1730),  famous  for  his  melodic  talent,  especially 
in  the  duet,  of  which,  in  its  typical  form,  he  was  regarded 
as  the  creator.  Of  distinct  artistic  merit  is  his  Stabat 
Mater  for  six  vocal  parts,  two  violins,  three  violas,  'cello, 
and  organ. 

Conspicuously  identified  with  Venice  was  the  famous 
school  of  Giovanni  Legrenzi  (1625-90),  author  of  many 
fine  sacred  works,  seventeen  operas,  and  a  number  of 
sonatas  and  other  instrumental  pieces.  He  organised 
an  orchestra  of  thirty-four  pla3^ers  at  St.  Mark's,  which 
comprised  string  and  wind  instruments  in  an  association 
strikingly  similar  to  the  modern  body. 

His  most  eminent  disciple  was  Antonio  Lotti  (1667- 
1740),  who  wrote  nineteen  operas  and  many  excellent 
works  for  church  and  chamber,  distinguished  for  their 
grace,   pathos,    and    profound   contrapuntal    scholarship. 


196        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


This  master,  no  doubt  underestimated  in  his  own  day  and 
generation,  is  now  regarded  as  a  shining  Hght  of  the  Vene- 
tian school.  He  was  also  a  thorough  master  of  the  vocal 
art. 

Another  disciple  of  Legrenzi's  school  was  Antonio  Cal- 
dara  (1670-1736),  born  in  Venice;  he  became  vice-director 
of  the  opera  in  Vienna,  under  the  celebrated  pedagogue 
and    composer  Johann  Joseph   Fux,  where  he   remained 

until  his  death.  He  wrote 
sixty-nine  operas,  noted 
more  for  skilful  technic 
than  creative  talent. 

Great  respect  is  ac- 
corded, further,  to  Bene- 
detto Marcello  (1686- 
I739)>  whose  principal 
work  was  a  beautiful  and 
powerful  setting  of  the 
Psalms  of  David.  His 
original  intention  of  com- 
posing the  entire  number 
(one  hundred  and  fifty) 
was  abandoned  after  he 
had  finished  the  first  fifty. 
One  of  the  most  clever  and  original  composers  of  the  Vene- 
tian school  was  Baldassare  Galuppi  (1706-85);  he  spent 
some  time  in  London  and  was  the  author  of  about  sixty 
operas. 

In  Bologna  appear  Giovanni  Paolo  Colonna  (1640-95) 
and  Giovanni  Bononcini  (the  younger);  the  latter,  born, 
1660,  at  Modena,  was  most  famous  as  a  really  able 
rival  of  Handel  in  London,  whose  popularity  with  the 
English  public  he  shared  quite  evenly  until  the  superior 
genius  of  Handel  overpowered  him  and  (coupled  with 
some  indiscretions  of  which  Bononcini  was  accused) 
forced  him  to  return  to  the  Continent,  where  he  was  lost 
sight  of.     Another  less  brilliant  but  more  noble-minded 


AGOSTINO  STEFFANI 


DRAMATIC  MUSIC  IN  ITALY 


197 


exponent  of  the  school  of  Bologna  was  Giovanni  Maria 
Clari  (bom  1669). 

Other  Italian  cities  also  produced  masters  of  greater 
or  lesser  distinction.  Palermo  was  the  home  of  Baron 
Emanuele  d'Astorga  (1681-1736),  justly  famed  for  his 
beautiful  Stabat  Mater,  and  an  excellent  tenor  singer  who 
won  the  hearts  of  every  community  he  visited.  His 
cantatas  were  highly  prized. 

From  Florence  came  Francesco  Conti  (1682-1732),  who, 
in  1703,  was  called  to  the  position  of  theobist  (lute  player) 
in  the  orchestra  at  Vienna;  like  Caldara,  Conti  became 
vice-director  there  under  Fux.  He  wrote  sixteen  much- 
admired  operas. 


ZINGARELLI.     SARTI.    TRITTO.     PAISIELLO* 


*  The  spelling  of  this    name   is  either  Paesiello  or  Paisiello.      See  Grove, 
Dictionary  of  Music  and  Musicians,  vol.  Ill,  p.  598. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

THE   OPERA  IN  FRANCE  AND   ENGLAND   IN  THE 
SEVENTEENTH  AND   EIGHTEENTH  CENTURIES 

The  popular  drama  was  perhaps  nowhere  more  gen- 
erally cultivated  than  in  France;  therefore,  this  nation 
was  ready  to  adopt  with  eagerness  the  new  musical  dra- 
matic forms  to  which  Italy  had  given  birth  and  for  which 
France  possessed  ample  models  and  lively  sympathy. 
Mention  has  been  made  of  the  popular  play  Robin  et 
Marion  of  Adam  de  la  Halle.  This  was  a  sort  of  fore- 
runner of  the  later  opera,  and  performances  of  works  of 
a  similar  nature  were  among  the  most  common  forms  of 
recreation,  kept  alive  chiefly  by  the  jongleurs  or  min- 
strels of  France  up  to  the  sixteenth  century. 

In  1645  Cardinal  Mazarin  caused  a  number  of  profes- 
sional singers  to  be  imported  from  Italy  to  Paris.  They 
performed  Peri's  opera,  Orfeo  ed  Eurydice,  and  met  with 
such  success  as  to  arouse  the  ambition  of  native  French 
composers,  who  began  to  imitate  the  new  dramatic  style 
and  produce  operas  of  their  own. 

The  transportation  of  Italian  opera  into  France  is  sig- 
nalised in  history  by  the  appearance  of  Giovanni  Battista 
LuUy,  who,  though  a  native-born  Italian,  was  destined  to 
inaugurate  the  brilliant  early  era  of  French  opera,  and, 
in  fact,  to  create  the  national  grand  opera  of  France. 
Lully  was  born  in  1633,  at  Florence.  He  emigrated  to 
Paris  at  the  age  of  twelve  and  served  in  the  kitchen  of 
Mademoiselle  d'Orleans,  the  king's  niece.  The  atten- 
tion of  certain  nobles  having  been  drawn  to  his  extraor- 
dinary musical  ability,  Lully  was  given  a  place  among  the 


OPERA  IN  FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  199 


twenty-four  violons  du  roy,  where  he  attracted  the  notice 
and  won  the  complete  favour  of  Louis  XIV.  Lully  was 
of  an  almost  repulsive  appearance  and  far  from  refined 
in  manners,  but  he  was  not  lacking  in  certain  good  quali- 
ties and,  above  all,  knew  how  to  manage  and  to  ingra- 
tiate himself  with 
the  king.  He  soon 
became  superinten- 
dent of  the  court 
music,  was  ap- 
pointed secretary 
to  the  king,  was 
knighted,  and  in 
1672  was  intrusted 
with  the  exclusive 
management  of  the 
royal  opera. 

As  composer, 
Lully  was  keenly 
aware  of  the  taste 
and  desires  of  the 
French  people,  and 
he  soon  stood  with- 
out a  rival  in  their 
esteem,  actually 
creating  an  epoch 
in  the  history  of 
French  grand  opera,  which  he  raised  to  the  dignity  and 
importance  of  a  national  institution  that  retained  its 
significance  long  after  his  death.  Lully  was  powerfully 
supported  by  a  skilful  poet,  Philippe  Quinault,  whose 
librettos  were  greatly  superior  to  those  of  his  contem- 
poraries m  France,  Italy,  and  Germany.  Together  they 
brought  out  about  one  opera  each  year.  The  first  of 
Lully's  operas  was  Les  fetes  de  V amour  et  de  Bacchus 
(1672).  Up  to  the  year  of  his  death  (1687)  some  eighteen 
other  operas  and  ballets  followed,  all  based  upon  Grecian 


JEAN   BAPTISTE  LULLY 
Portrait  by  Mignard. 


200        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


mythology.     All  bore  the  same  title,    Tragedie,  mise  en 
musique,  and  each  was  prefaced  by  a  prologue. 

As  far  as  the  intrinsic  merit  of  Lully's  music  is  con- 
cerned, it  must  be  pronounced  greatly  inferior  to  the  ar- 
tistic productions  of  Italian 
and    German    masters.     His 
creative  musical  talent  could 
not    bear    comparison    with 
that  of  Monteverde,  Cavalli, 
Scarlatti,   or  Schiitz.     His 
success   was,    therefore,    not 
due  to   this  but  to  his  dra- 
matic genius;  his  operas  were 
masterpieces    of  dramatic 
pathos   and   expression,   and 
their  strongest    feature  was 
the  declamation.     Their  ob- 
ject was  the  most  vivid  and 
passionate  dramatic  utter- 
ance,   and    the    music,    the 
separate  tones  of  his  mostly 
fragmentary  melodies  and  re- 
citatives,   were  wholly  sub- 
servient  thereto.     Hence, 
Lull3^'s  operas   did    little    or 
nothing  for  the  advancement 
of  absolute  music,  though  it 
must  be  recognised  that, from  such  close  and  ardent  associa- 
tion with  the  emotional  pulsations  of  the  drama,  the  latent 
dramatic  and  emotional  qualities  of  music  were  stimulated 
and  brought  nearer  to  the  vital  action  they  were  destined 
to  evolve  and  exercise  in  time.     Lully  discarded  all  vocal 
embellishment,  thus  adopting  a  tendency  directly  opposed 
to  that  of  the  Italians,  whose  natural  melodic  expression 
was  marred  and  hampered  by  a  redundancy  of  ornament. 
The  following  is  a  fine  illustration  of  effective  musical 
declamation  from  Lully's  Alceste: 


From  Vidal's  "Les  Instruments  a  Archet," 
Paris,  1876. 


ONE  OF  THE  TWENTY-FOUR 
"VIOLONS   DU  ROY" 


m 


OPERA  IN   FRANCE  AND   ENGLAND     201 


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It  appears,  for  the  reasons  just  given,  that  the  early 
French  national  opera  as  conceived  bj^  Lully  was  quite  as 
one-sided,  in  its  almost  exclusive  dramatic  character,  as 
was  that  of  Italy,  where  this  very  dramatic  element  was 
made  entirely  subservient  to  purely  melodious  musical 
expression.  Lully's  instrumental  accompaniments  were 
very  meagre — not  in  any  degree  independent  but  a  mere 
duplication  of  the  vocal  parts — except,  of  course,  in  the 
overture  and  in  the  ballets  and  dances  (called  airs).  In 
regard  to  the  latter,  another  characteristic  distinction 
appears  between  the  French,  who  loved  the  ballet  and 
gave  it  a  prominent  place  in  their  opera,  and  the  Italians, 
with  whom  this  was  an  unimportant  and  more  unusual 
factor. 

Lully's  operas  would  probably  have  been  less  popular 
had  not  his  dramatic  talent  given  him  such  command 
of  the  effective  auxiliaries — the  management  of  the  stage, 
the  arrangement  of  dances,  the  scenes  and  costumes — all 


202        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


these  things  were  brought  into  concerted  operation  by 
his  own  hand.  In  this  respect  LuUy  bore  significant  his- 
toric relation  to  Richard  Wagner,  whom  he  resembles 
in  his  definite  purpose  of  creating  a  music-drama  which 
should  assemble  all  the  arts  necessary  for  this  object,  but 
to  whom  he  was  inferior  in  point  of  musical  and  dra- 
matic genius. 

The  next  eminent  promoter  of  French  national  opera 
was  Jean  Philippe  Rameau,  to  whom  reference  has  already 

been  made  as  instrumental 
composer  and  as  author  of 
the  oldest  harmony  method. 
Rameau,  like  Gluck  and 
Handel,  reached  quite  an  ad- 
vanced age  before  treading 
the  path  that  was  to  lead 
to  the  greatest  triumph.  His 
first  opera  was  performed  in 
1733,  when  he  was  in  his 
fiftieth  year.  Born  in  1683, 
he  gave  early  proof  of  un- 
usual musical  talent.  At  the 
age  of  eighteen  he  left  his 
parental  home,  went  to  Mi- 
lan, and  did  not  return  to  Paris  until  sixteen  years  later. 
It  was  his  first  opera  that  suddenly  made  him  famous, 
and  it  was  followed,  up  to  his  death,  in  1764,  by  twenty- 
two  other  operas  and  ballets,  which,  though  neither  revo- 
lutionary in  style  nor  even  particularly  original,  were, 
nevertheless,  immensely  popular — probably  because  they 
were  so  natural  and  clever  a  continuation  of  the  same 
processes  and  the  same  manner  of  treatment  that  had 
made  Lully  so  beloved.  Rameau's  style  was,  however, 
somewhat  superior  to  that  of  the  latter  in  the  intensity 
of  its  declamation,  the  variety  and  interest  of  its  rhythm, 
and  the  richness  and  technical  purity  of  harmony. 

A  somewhat   later   and    almost   equally    distinguished 


FRANCOIS  JOSEPH  GOSSEC 


OPERA  IN  FRANCE  AND   ENGLAND     203 

composer  and  promoter  of  national  French  grand  opera 
was  Frangois  Joseph  Gossec  (1734-1829);  he  was  an  ad- 
mirable writer  and  compares  most  favourably  with  the 
best  talents  that  France  has  produced.  Gossec  is  ac- 
credited with  being  a  close  forerunner  of  Haydn  in  the 
domain  of  the  S3^mphony,  having  written  one  in  the  style 
subsequently  adopted  and  developed  by  the  great  classic 
masters,  five  yea.rs  before  Haydn  turned  his  attention  to 
the  symphony.  Gossec  wrote  a  few  comic  operas  but 
chiefly  those  of  the  larger,  tragic  type. 

French  grand  opera,  which  attained  to  such  vigour 
under  Lully  and  Rameau,  encountered  before  the  death 
of  the  latter  a  strong  rival  in  the  opera  huffa  of  Italy, 
which  found  its  way  to  Paris  (as  it  also  had  to  Germany 
and  England)  and  gave  birth  in  France  to  the  no  less 
popular  and  important  forms  of  the  opera  comique  and  the 
operetta.  In  1752  a  troupe  of  Italian  ^'bufFonists"  (from 
huffa,  comic)  invaded  Paris,  presenting  the  comic  operas 
of  Pergolesi  and  other  Italian  masters  with  overwhelming 
success.  This  actually  led  to  a  division  into  rival  fac- 
tions— those  who  favoured  the  novel  foreign  products 
and  those  who  held  loyally  to  their  own  national  musical 
drama. 

The  famous  Jean  Jacques  Rousseau  (1712-78),  better 
known  in  literary  than  in  music  history,  sided  with  the 
"buflPonists"  and  even  ventured  to  emphasise  his  belief  in 
the  superior  excellence  of  the  Italian  style  by  immediately 
composing  and  producing  a  vaudeville  (1752),  Le  devin 
du  village,  which  was  received  with  great  favour. 

The  antagonism  grew  so  active  that  after  two  years 
the  ItaUans  were  obliged  to  quit  Paris.  But  their  seduc- 
tive melodies  continued  to  ring  in  the  ears  of  the  French 
people,  and  the  gradual  affiliation  of  the  two  styles  which 
had  become  distinctive  of  these  two  nations  was  the  in- 
evitable consequence.  Thus,  the  opera  bufFa  of  Italy 
actually  became  the  type  of  the  French  operetta,  though 
each  clung  to  its  distinctive  traits;    it  always  remained 


204        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


characteristic  of  the  French  operetta  that  it  contained 
spoken  dialogue  as  well  as  musical  numbers.  But  the  op- 
eretta of  France  reached  a  degree  of  poetic  and  musical 
superiority  over  the  opera  buffa  which  did  not  fail  to 
exert  a  powerful  influence  on  the  whole  range  of  French 
dramatic  art.  Mythologic  subjects  were  abandoned  in 
the  operetta  in  favour  of  episodes  of  every-day  life,  es- 
pecially that  of  the  peasant,  and  this  alone  made  it  more 
popular  and  far  more  appealing  to  the  sympathies  of 
the  public.  After  a  time  the  term  operetta  was  applied 
to  every  class  of  musical  drama  in 
which  certain  parts  were  spoken, 
while  in  "grand  opera"  every  word 
was  sung.  Further,  the  latter  al- 
ways contained  ballet  numbers, 
the  operetta  none. 

Three  French  composers  of  the 
eighteenth  century  are  noted  for 
their  successful  efforts  in  establish- 
ing and  perfecting  the  style  of  both 
operetta  and  opera:  Andre  Danican, 
known  also  by  chess-players  as  Phil- 
idor  (1726-95),  whose  best  work, 
Ernelinde,  is  regarded  as  a  very  sig- 
nificant step;  Pierre  Alexandre  Monsigny  (1729-1817), 
director  of  the  Paris  conservatoire,  whose  operetta,  Le 
deserteur,  created  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  comic  or  light 
opera;  and  Andre  Gretry,  by  far  the  greatest  musical  genius 
of  the  three,  and  famed  as  the  one  "who  brought  comic 
opera  to  its  fullest  perfection  and  made  it  a  genuine  re- 
flection of  the  national  character  of  the  French  in  the 
sphere  of  dramatic  art."  Gretry  was  born  in  1741,  made 
a  pilgrimage  to  Rome  on  foot  at  the  age  of  eighteen, 
where  he  studied  zealously  for  five  years;  he  then  re- 
turned to  Paris,  and  finally  overcame  the  jealousy  of 
his  colleagues  with  his  opera.  The  Huron  (1768),  versified 
by    Marmontel.     Of  his   sixty-one   very   much    admired 


ANDRE   DANICAN 
(puilidor) 


OPERA  IN  FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  205 


operas,  Richard  Cceur  de  Lion  (1784)  was  the  most  popular, 
not  onl}^  in  France  but  in  almost  all  European  musical 
centres.     He  died  in  181 3. 

The  histor)^  of  operatic  art  in  England  presents  but 
little  of  interest  before  the  daj^s  of  Henry  Purcell,  born 
at  London  in  1658 
(twentj-seven  years  be- 
fore Bach  and  Handel), 
Until  near  the  end  of 
the  seventeenth  century 
English  dramatic  music 
was  almost  entirely  in 
the  hands  of  Italians, 
The  French  librettist 
and  composer  Robert 
Cambert  (crowded  out 
of  Paris  by  Lully)  went 
to  London  in  1673  and 
endeavoured  to  oppose 
his  Parisian  style  to  that 
of  the  Italians,  while  a 
number  of  native  En- 
glish writers  strove  to  es- 
tablish a  national  style 
by  using  English  historic 
material.  The  first  of  the 

latter  to  achieve  a  certain  measure  of  success  was  Matthew 
Locke,  whose  Macbeth  was  very  favourably  received.  At 
the  same  time  Henry  Purcell  appeared,  and  he  it  was  who 
was  destined  to  elevate  English  musical  art  to  a  dignity 
and  lofty  artistic  standard  hitherto  unknown  in  that 
country  and  rarely  excelled  since.  Purcell  was  unques- 
tionably the  most  gifted  of  all  English  composers,  the  pos- 
sessor of  true  musical  genius.  His  aims  were  thoroughly 
patriotic;  but  he  adopted  Italian  models  in  preference  to 
those  of  the  French,  whose  style  he  considered  superficial. 


HENRY   PURCELL 


2o6        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

^  Purcell's  sacred  works  were  highly  esteemed,  especially 
his  compositions  for  the  annual  celebration  of  St.  Ce- 
cilia's Day — a  national  festival  still  observed  in  England./ 
(The  first  one  was  held  November  22,  1683,  under  Pur- 
cell's direction,  who  later  wrote  several  Odes  to  St.  Ce- 
cilia. Handel's  Alexander' s  Feast  and  St.  Cecilia  Ode 
were  written  for  these  celebrations.)  [  Purcell's  thirty- 
nine  dramatic  works  consisted  chiefly  of  national  plays 
with  musical  scenes  and  interludes.  His  Dido  and  Apneas 
(1675),  a  most  excellent  creation  which  is  yet  occasionally 
given  in  England  and  affords  very  positive  enjoyment, 
comprises  an  overture,  recitatives  (simple  and  accom- 
panied), arias,  duets,  and  numerous  choruses  of  striking 
character  and  effect,  as  well  as  a  few  instrumental  inter- 
ludes. 

After  1690,  French  musicians  gradually  withdrew  from 
the  London  stage,  leaving  it  at  last  entirely  in  the  hands 
of  the  Italians.  The  first  opera  in  which,  according  to 
Italian  practice,  the  entire  text  was  sung,  was  Thomas 
Clayton's  Arsinoe^  ^7^S-  This  and  a  few  other  native 
operas  were  soon  entirely  supplanted  by  the  flood  of 
Italian  works  that  proved  more  popular  with  the  music 
lovers  of  England,  and  soon  Scarlatti  (the  elder),  Bonon- 
cini,  Conti,  and  others  reigned  supreme.  Their  operas 
were  at  first  translated,  but  it  was  shortly  found  more 
convenient  to  sing  them  in  their  original  tongue. 

In  171 1  Handel  appeared  on  the  London  stage  with 
his  Rinaldo,  and  a  few  years  later  the  most  brilliant  era 
of  Italian  opera  in  England  began.  Another  English 
musician  of  this  time  is  worthy  of  note,  Henry  Carey 
(born  about  1690),  a  gifted  poet  and  composer  of  popu- 
lar ballads  but  not  connected  with  the  opera.  He  is 
generally  assumed  to  be  the  author  of  God  Save  the  King. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 
THE  OPERA  IN  GERMANY 

Italian  dramatic  music  began  early  to  reach  out  into 
other  countries  of  Europe,  and,  indeed,  may  be  said  to 
have  overrun  the  musical  world  in  the  seventeenth  and 
eighteenth  centuries.  The  reader  has  learned  how  the 
operatic  and  vocal  art  of  Italy  found  its  way  into  France 
and  England,  partly  through  the  instrumentality  of  Ital- 
ian singers  and  operatic  troupes  who  emigrated  in  large 
numbers,  and  partly  through  the  composers  themselves, 
who  endeavoured,  with  varjang  success,  to  establish  their 
operatic  style  bej^ond  the  borders  of  their  own  lands.  In 
the  same  way,  the  influence  of  Italian  opera  spread  into 
Germany. 

Italian  composers  and  singers  flocked  to  all  the  prin- 
cipal musical  centres — to  Vienna,  Munich,  Dresden,  Ber- 
lin, and  other  cities — where  their  sojourn  became  more 
or  less  permanent  and  where  they  speedily  won  the  fa- 
vour of  the  entire  populace,  and  retained  it  for  a  century 
without  opposition. 

In  Vienna  the  opera  was  at  the  height  of  its  power  and 
favour  from  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  to  the  middle 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  especially  under  the  brilliant 
direction  of  Fux,  Antonio  Caldara,  and  Francesco  Conti 
— the  respective  representatives  of  the  scholastic,  beauti- 
ful, and  comic  types  of  dramatic  music.  Of  these,  Jo- 
hann  Joseph  Fux  (1660-1741)  was  a  man  of  profound 
theoretical  learning;  his  famous  method  of  counterpoint, 
Gradus  ad  Parnassum  (1725),  is  still  quoted  as  an  au- 
thority. 

207 


2o8        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


Italian  opera  was  introduced  in  Munich  in  1654;  the 
performers  were  all  from  Italy,  and  also  the  composers, 
with  the  exception  of  a  few  native  Germans.  One  of  the 
earliest  and  most  famous  of  these  was  Johann  Kaspar 
Kerll  (1628-93),  ^^  organ  pupil  of  Frescobaldi,  and  the 
author  of  three  operas,  six  masses,  and  other  works. 

The  first  Italian  singers  were  engaged  for  Berlin  in 
1616,  though  a  permanent  opera  was  not  established  there 

until  1742,  when  Friedrich  II 
caused  the  Grand  Opera  House 
to  be  erected.  It  was  opened 
December  7  of  that  year  with 
Cesare  e  Cleopatra,  by  Carl 
Heinrich  Graun  (1701-59).  He 
wrote  thirty-three  operas,  a 
number  of  oratorios,  and  other 
sacred  works,  the  most  famous 
of  which  is  his  Tod  Jesu  {Death 
of  Christ).  This  work,  which  in- 
fluenced the  style  of  the  ora- 
torio, won  extraordmary  popu- 
larity, lasting  almost  to  the 
present  day.  It  is  skilfully 
written,  but  bears  some  traces 
of  the  superficial  style  of  the 
Italian  opera  of  that  period.  Graun  was  the  undisputed 
sovereign  of  the  Berlin  operatic  stage.  His  smgers  were 
all  Italians;  the  demand  for  them  was  so  extensive  that 
German  vocalists  were  not  tolerated. 

In  Dresden,  Italian  opera  found  a  foothold  in  1662; 
the  instrumentalists  were  mostly  Germans,  but  the  singers 
all  Italians.  The  opera  here  reached  its  greatest  emi- 
nence under  Johann  Adolf  Hasse,  one  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished German  tone-masters.  Hasse  was  born  in 
1699  at  Hamburg;  he  studied  with  Porpora  and  Scar- 
latti; in  173 1  he  was  given  charge  of  the  Dresden  opera 
as  director  and  composer  and,  at  the  same  time,  his  wife 


CARL  HEINRICH  GRAUN 


OPERA  IN  GERMANY  209 

(the  celebrated  Faustina  Bordoni,  the  favourite  of  all 
Italy)  was  engaged  as  prima  donna.  He  died  in  1783. 
Hasse  wrote  fifty  operas,  many  oratorios,  and  a  great 
man}'  quartets,  symphonies,  sonatas,  concertos,  and  other 
forms.  Scarcely  any  other  German  musician  was  ever 
so  idolised  b}^  his  countrymen.  While  Bach  and  Handel 
were  rarel}'  mentioned,  and  then  only  as  learned  contra- 
puntists, Hasse  and  Graun  were  the  models  and  shining 
lights  of  their  age  and  nation. 


JOH.  AD.  HASSE  FAUSTINA  HASSE 

Graun  was  regarded  as  the  greater  in  sacred  dramatic 
art,  while  Hasse  was  the  favourite  in  the  domain  of  opera. 
Graun  was  the  better  scholar;  Hasse  possessed  a  more 
fertile  imagination,  melodic  and  dramatic  talent,  and  skill 
in  musical  characterisation.  Hasse  wrote  with  judgment 
for  the  voice,  and  was  himself  an  excellent  singer  and 
teacher;    his  accompaniments,  however,  were  superficial. 

Thus  it  appears  that  there  was  no  lack  of  native-born 
(German)  composers  who  endeavoured,  even  while  imitat- 
ing the  popular  Italian  manner,  to  establish  a  national 
style  and  to  counteract  the  overbearing  of  a  foreign 
school.  The  Germans,  moreover,  sensibly  adopted  the 
best  qualities  of  both  French  and  Italian  dramatic  art — 
from  the  latter,  the  highly  developed  art  of  melody  and 


2IO        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


vocalisation;  from  the  French,  effective  declamation  and 
dramatic  expression.  Out  of  this  union  evolved  the  best 
operatic  products  of  the  eighteenth  centurj^,  including 
those  of  Gluck  and  Mozart. 

The  following  extracts  afford  an  idea  of  the  style  of 
each  and  of  the  advances  made  in  operatic  melody: 


OPERA  IN  GERMANY 


211 


J^;vo-u^      .Jrr->t<u^c/-a^ 


J^-CAl. 


The  first  original  German  opera  was  produced  in  Ham- 
burg, January  2,  1678.  The  history  of  the  Hamburg 
opera  from  this  time  until  1738  is,  properly  speaking, 
the  histor}^  of  early  German  opera  in  general.  The  earli- 
est operas,  or  singspiele,  were  patterned,  naturally,  after 
Italian  and  French  models.  But  before  long  the  vigor- 
ous popular  spirit  of  the  Teutons  impressed  something  of 
its  own  stamp  upon  dramatic  musical  art.  For  the  first 
fifteen  years  it  was  the  sacred  drama,  as  remnant  of  the 
traditional  mysteries,  that  was  most  favoured.  The 
opening  performance  of  the  Hamburg  opera  was  a  play  of 
this  kind,  Adam  and  Eve,  followed  by  Michael  and  Davidy 
Esther,  Cain  and  Abel,  and  others,  all  as  sacred  operas 
(not  oratorios)  and  all  the  work  of  native  German  writers. 
Oddly  enough,  the  majority  of  operas  for  the  Hamburg 


212        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

theatre,  up  to  the  year  1690,  were  written  by  two  ama- 
teurs, both  physicians,  Johann  Wolfgang  Franck  and 
Johann  Phihpp  Fortsch.  More  masterly  material  was 
produced  by  Nicolaus  Adam  Strunck  (1640-1700),  a 
famous  composer,  violinist,  organist,  and  clavicymbalist 
of  positive  musical  merit. 

But  the  Hamburg  opera  owed  its  development  into  a 
national  institution,  for  a  certain  period,  to  the  efforts  of 
two  gifted  men,  Johann  Sigismund  Kusser  and  Reinhard 
Keiser.  Kusser  was  born  in  1657  and  assumed  charge 
of  the  opera  in  1693,  after  having  spent  several  years  in 
Paris,  as  pupil  of  Lully  and  the  French  school  of  dramatic 
art.  In  spite  of  poor  material  and  adverse  conditions, 
Kusser  managed  to  raise  the  Hamburg  opera  to  a  very 
respectable  grade  of  excellence  and  popularity.  With 
untiring  energy  he  laboured  to  train  his  motley  band  of 
singers,  and,  though  no  great  results  were  or  could  be 
achieved  in  such  fashion,  Kusser  paved  the  way  for  a 
more  brilliant  future.  He  left  Hamburg  in  1697,  led  a 
roving  life,  and  died  in  1727  in  Dublin. 

The  direction  of  the  opera  was  transferred  to  Keiser 
(1673-1739),  who  was  far  more  richly  gifted  than  his 
predecessor,  and  but  for  a  somewhat  unmanly  disposition 
and  lack  of  true  ambition  might  have  attained  to  emi- 
nence. Keiser  wrote  one  hundred  and  twenty  operas; 
his  flow  of  melody  was  inexhaustible;  he  grasped  the 
spirit  of  the  text  and  the  dramatic  situations  with  the  in- 
sight of  genius,  and  reflected  it  in  his  music.  In  the 
recitative  he  was,  therefore,  particularly  successful,  but 
was  apparently  unable  to  create  strong  and  convincing 
climaxes.  His  melodic  sentences  were  fragmentary,  in 
which  respect  he,  like  Kusser,  pursued  the  method  of 
the  French  school.  Keiser  did  very  little,  after  all,  for 
the  promotion  of  music  in  general,  nor  was  he  able  to 
prevent  the  ultimate  decline  of  his  stage  and  of  his  own 
genius. 

Sacred    plays    disappeared    from    the    Hamburg    stage 


OPERA  IN  GERMANY 


213 


after  1692,  and  the  whole  institution  steadily  deterio- 
rated after  1703.  Only  two  styles  of  presentation  were 
tolerated,  either  heroic  mythology  or  the  farce.  The 
former  was  divested  of  its  dignity  and  degraded  to  a 
vulgar  parody  and  the  farces  were  of  the  lowest  conceiv- 
able t3'pe.  And  yet  there  must  have  been  some  vital 
elements  of  wholesome  dramatic  life  there  capable  of 
attracting  men  of  better  calibre.  Hamburg  long  contin- 
ued to  be  a  high  school  of 
dramatic  music  where 
much  could  be  learned  by 
discriminating  students. 

George  Frederick  Han- 
del* turned  his  steps 
thither  at  the  age  of  nine- 
teen (1704)  and  was  al- 
read}^  manly  enough  to 
derive  benefit  from  its 
curious  musical  atmos- 
phere. The  purity  and 
nobility  of  his  character 
guarded  him  against  fatal 
contagion.  Mattheson,  his 
erratic  friend  and  rival  in 
Hamburg,  said  of  Handel: 
"He    arrived    from    Halle 

equipped  with  much  contrapuntal  learning,  rich  in  talent, 
and  earnest  of  will.  He  was  strong  at  the  organ,  in 
fugue  and  other  counterpoints,  particularly  extempore ; 
but  he  knew  precious  little  about  melody  before  he  came 
to  Hamburg."  In  January,  1705,  Handel's  first  opera, 
Almira,  was  given  and  did  not  leave  the  stage  for  thirty 
successive  nights.  Then  followed  his  Nero^  with  his 
friend  Mattheson  as  tenor  in  the  title  role.  The  effect 
of  Handel's  operas,  with  their  vigour  and  depth,  must 
have  been  very  striking,  opposed,   as  they  were,  to  the 

*  Originally  Haendel  or  Handel. 


G.   F.  HANDEL 
By  F.  Mercier,  1748. 


214        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


triviality  and  amorous  grace  of  Keiser's  works.  Handel 
himself  shortly  became  disgusted,  confined  himself  to 
teaching,  and  looked  quietly  down  upon  the  vulgar  spec- 
tacle of  the  Hamburg  opera.  In  1707  (having  first  yielded 
to  the  importunity  of  the  theatre  director  and  having 
composed  two  more  operas,  Florinde  and  Daphne,  pre- 
sented after  his  departure)  Handel  went  to  Italy.  His 
career,  as  a  whole,  will  be  considered  in  the  next  chapter. 

That  extraordinary  per- 
sonage, Johann  Matthe- 
son,  mentioned  above,  was 
born  at  Hamburg  in  1681. 
He  was  the  favourite  tenor 
of  the  operatic  stage,  a 
composer  and  prolific 
literary  writer,  a  veritable 
genius,  with  the  best  pos- 
sible opinion  of  himself 
though  not  ungenerous  to- 
ward others.  He  admitted 
Handel's  superiority  at  the 
organ,  while  the  latter  was 
loud  in  his  praise  of  Mat- 
theson  at  the  clavichord. 
His  literary  works,  critical,  biographical,  and  theoretical, 
constitute  his  most  valuable  legacy.     He  died  in  1764. 

Although  the  ruin  of  the  Hamburg  opera  appeared  in- 
evitable, there  were  still  some  serious-minded  art  lovers 
who  attempted,  in  1722,  to  arrest  its  downward  course. 
They  appointed  a  new  director,  George  Philipp  Telemann, 
the  last  composer  of  distinction  for  the  Hamburg  stage. 
Telemann  was  born  in  168 1,  travelled  much,  and  gathered 
costly  experience.  He  enjoyed  an  enviable  reputation  in 
Germany  and  was  ranked,  with  Graun  and  Hasse,  among 
the  foremost  composers  of  the  day.  His  cantatas  and 
oratorios  were  held  to  be  models  of  the  serious  style. 
For  all  that,  he  was  not  the  man  to  instil  new  life  into  the 


JOHANN    MATTHESON 


OPERA  IN  GERMANY  215 

hopelessly  corrupted  opera.  In  1738  the  Hamburg  opera 
was  dissolved.  Two  years  later,  the  first  Italian  troupe 
arrived  there  under  the  direction  of  Angelo  Mingotti,  and 
for  a  time  the  aspirations  of  German  national  opera  were 
at  an  end. 

Among  the  very  numerous  musical  critics  and  theorists 
who  laboured  faithfull}^  to  systematise  and  further  per- 
fect the  study  and  practice  of  musical  composition  and 
aesthetics,  there  were  quite  a  few  Germans  of  distinc- 
tion in  this  era:  Friedrich  Wilhelm  Marpurg  (1718-1795), 
Johann  Philipp  Kirnberger  (1721-1783),  and  Johann 
Georg  Albrechtsberger  (1736-1809) — the  last  was  one  of 
the  ablest  pedagogues,  and  teacher  of  many  subsequently 
famous  composers,  among  them  Hummel  and  Beethoven. 
The  most  distinguished  theorist  of  his  century  was  Jo- 
hann Joseph  Fux,  to  whom  reference  has  been  made. 


CHAPTER  XXV 
GEORGE  FREDERICK  HANDEL* 

The  train  of  musical  events  leads  the  reader  to  the 
consideration  of  those  two  great  German  masters,  Handel 
and  Bach,  whose  artistic  achievements  culminated  the 
aims  of  foregoing  generations  and  secured  for  Germany 
that  foremost  rank  in  the  history  of  classic  music  which 
it  was  destined  to  maintain  nearly,  if  not  quite,  to  the 
present  day. 

George  Frederick  Handel  was  born  February  23,  1685, 
at  Halle,  as  son  of  the  physician  in  ordinary  to  the  Prince 
of  Saxony.  His  father  opposed  the  cultivation  of  the 
musical  proclivities  which  the  boy  manifested  at  a  very 
early  age,  and  he  was,  therefore,  compelled  to  devote  the 
hours  of  the  night  to  the  stolen  practice  of  his  art,  until 
the  attention  of  the  Duke  of  Weissenfels  was  attracted  to 
the  remarkable  talent  of  the  lad  and  his  influence  brought 
to  bear  upon  the  father.  The  death  of  the  latter,  in 
1697,  ^^ft  young  Handel  at  liberty  to  pursue  his  passion 
for  music  without  restraint.  In  1702  he  attended  the 
university  in  his  native  cit)^,  but  the  following  year  he 
took  his  departure  for  Hamburg,  where  his  connections 
with  the  opera  of  that  city  were  formed. 

The  disintegration  of  the  opera  through  the  misman- 
agement of  Keiser  caused  Handel  to  withdraw  from  this 
casual  connection  and  to  turn  his  steps  to  Italy,  where 
he  became  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  best  and 
purest  art  of  Italian  dramatic  song.  He  reached  Italy 
early  in  1707,  soon  won  recognition,  and  enjoyed  many 
trmmphs.     In   Florence  he  composed   his  opera    Rodrigo 

*  In  German:    Georg  Friedrich  Handel  (also  written  Haendel  or  Hendel). 

216 


GEORGE   FREDERICK  HANDEL 


217 


in  response  to  ro3^al  request;  in  Venice,  where  he  arrived 
in  1708,  he  excited  genuine  admiration  with  his  clavi- 
chord plajang  and  took  every  one  by  storm  with  his  opera 
Agrippina^  which  he  wrote  in  three  weeks  and  which  was 
presented  twenty-seven  successive  nights. 

In  1710  he  left  Italy  and  went  to  Hanover  to  take 
SteflFani's  place  as  orchestral  director,  having  first  made 
a  journey  to  England  in  the  autumn  of  that  year.  His 
Rinaldo  was  performed  in  London  in  171 1,  with  immedi- 
ate success.  Upon  the  expira- 
tion of  his  leave  of  absence  he 
returned  to  Hanover,  where  he 
stayed  two  years.  Then,  yield- 
ing to  his  strong  personal  incli- 
nation, he  again  journeyed  to 
England,  which  was  thence- 
forth the  home  of  his  choice, 
from  which  he  was  rarely  ab- 
sent during  the  rest  of  his  life. 

In  171 3  he  produced  //  pastor 
fido  (a  pastoral  opera),  the  Te 
Deum  and  Jubilate  for  the  cele- 
bration of  the  peace  of  Utrecht, 
was  organist  and  music  director  to  the  Duke  of  Chandos 
and  Cannons,  composmg  dunng  these  years  the  twelve 
anthems,  the  oratorio  of  Esther,  and  revising  his  early 
pastoral  play  Acis  and  Galatea.  Upon  assummg  charge 
of  the  Italian  opera  in  1719  he  may  be  said  to  have 
reached  a  momentous  turning-point  in  his  artistic  career. 

It  has  been  shown  what  the  condition  of  affairs  in  En- 
gland were  prior  to  this  in  the  history  of  dramatic  art. 
Cambert  had  made  ineffectual  attempts  to  introduce  the 
French  style;  Locke  was  only  partly  successful  in  arous- 
ing sympathy  for  national  English  opera;  the  Itahans 
were  still  the  more  popular,  and  even  Purcell,  patriotic  as 
he  was,  adopted  their  style,  which,  after  his  death,  flour- 
ished   all    the   more    vigorously    and    exclusively.     Then 


GEORGE  FREDERICK  HANDEL 


From  1717  to  1720  he 


2i8        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

Handel  turned  his  powerful  mind  to  the  cultivation  of 
the  dramatic  (operatic)  art  and  inaugurated  the  most 
brilliant  period  that  Italian  art  had  ever  known,  in  En- 
gland or  elsewhere;  but  even  he  was  doomed  to  ultimate 
disappointment.  The  nobility  of  London  organised  an 
operatic  academy,  the  direction  of  which  Handel  (in  com- 
pany with  Giovanni  Bononcini  and  Atilio  Ariosti)  under- 
took in  1719.  For  this  institution  he  wrote  twelve  operas, 
and  conducted  it  with  complete  success  for  nine  years, 
when  the  tide  turned  and  it  became,  for  various  reasons, 
the  source  of  much  irritation  and  sorrow  to  him. 

The  main  cause  was  the  evil,  ungenerous  spirit  rife 
among  his  Italian  singers.  Further,  the  interest  of  the 
English  public  in  Italian  opera  was  beginning  to  wane, 
while  the  taste  for  a  new  order  of  opera  or  operetta,  na- 
tional in  character,  proportionately  increased.  (This  was 
the  so-called  Beggar' s-opera  and  pantomimes,  called  into 
existence  by  John  Gay.)  Meanwhile,  Handel  was  reluc- 
tant to  suspend  his  efforts  and  persevered  for  seven  more 
years,  producing  seven  more  operas.  Then,  in  1736, 
Italian  opera  was  legalh^  prohibited,  in  consequence  of 
w^hich  Handel  had  an  apoplectic  stroke  from  which  he 
recovered  with  difficulty.  Still  he  kept  his  hold  tena- 
ciously until  1740.  His  last  operas  were  Imeneo  and  Dei- 
damia. 

Thus,  finally,  completel}^  thwarted,  Handel  found  him- 
self compelled,  by  what  seemed  to  be  a  most  perverse 
fate,  to  abandon  operatic  composition  altogether  and 
turn  his  attention  to  the  only  field  of  musical  creation 
left  open  to  his  great  and  unquestionable  genius — the 
sacred  dramatic  form  of  the  oratorio;  to  leave  a  domain 
which  would  appear  to  afford  his  extraordinary  dramatic 
genius  the  widest  opportunity,  his  creative  power  the 
broadest  scope,  and  to  enter,  late  in  life,  upon  a  new  field, 
where  these  favourable  conditions  were  dubious  or  denied. 
But  the  digression  proved  to  be  an  eminent  advantage 
to   succeeding  generations,   and   what   of  Handel's   very 


GEORGE   FREDERICK  HANDEL 


219 


numerous  works  are  to-day  best  known  and  most  en- 
joyed are  not  the  product  of  his  earlier  activity  in  the 
opera  but  of  his  maturer  labour  in  the  oratorio. 

Handel  was,  after  all,  not  the  man  called  and  chosen 
to  loosen  the  fetters  which  bound  the  opera  of  his  time 


FAC-SIMILE  OF  A  MUSIC  MANUSCRIPT   BY  HANDEL 


in  narrow  stricture,  and  to  advance  it  to  its  higher  stages 
of  perfection.  We  now  know  that  Gluck  and  Mozart 
were  far  better  adapted  by  their  individual  endowments 
for  this  greater  achievement,  and  to  what  their  example 
led  is  seen  in  the  modern  creations  of  Berlioz,  Richard 
Wagner,  and  Richard  Strauss. 

Handel's  operas  contained  by  no  means  the  best  that 
he  was  destined  to  create;  the  wealth  of  emotional  fer- 
vour that  animated  his  musical  expression  lent  to  his 
operas  dramatic  reality  and  glory,  but  the  Italian  opera 
of  that   era   was    not   calculated    to   inspire   his    loftiest 


220        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC   HISTORY 

thought.  In  the  opera  he  gathered  his  experience,  tested 
his  strength,  found  and  developed  his  idioms,  schooled 
and  perfected  his  technical  apparatus,  and  in  the  oratorio 
he  put  this  knowledge  and  power  to  its  truest  and  noblest 
uses.  He  created  the  oratorio  form  anew  and  gave  it 
the  type  which  is  still  recognised  and  adopted  as  the 
most  effective  model  of  secular  dramatic  art. 

Handel's  first  oratorios  in  London  were  designed,  in 
keeping  with  long-standing  custom,  for  stage  presenta- 
tion as  sacred  drama.  This  is  the  manner  in  which 
Esther,  Deborah  (1733),  and  Athalia  (1733)  were  given. 
Alexander  s  Feast  stands  upon  the  dividing  line  of  his 
creative  career,  and  in  Israel  in  Egypt  (1738)  his  unpar- 
alleled mastership  of  the  sacred  drama  asserts  itself  in 
the  new  direction,  reaching  its  culmination  in  the  Mes- 
siah (1741),  Samson  (1742),  Judas  Maccahceus  (1746), 
and  Joshua  {ly^j).  His  success  with  the  oratorio  in 
England  was  at  first  not  as  marked  as  might  be  sup- 
posed; it  was  not  until  the  Irish  public  gave  his  Messiah 
an  enthusiastic  reception  (at  Dublin  in  1741)  that  the 
English  began  to  realise  his  power  in  the  new  field  of 
oratorio  and  accorded  him,  in  due  measure,  the  recogni- 
tion and  honour  he  merited. 

From  that  time  forth  Handel  led  a  happy  and  con- 
tented life  until,  like  his  great  contemporar}^  Bach,  he 
was  stricken  with  loss  of  sight.  In  175 1  he  managed  to 
complete  his  last  oratorio,  Jephthah.  He  died  on  Good 
Friday,  1759  (nine  years  after  the  death  of  Bach  and 
when  Mozart  was  three  years  old). 


CHAPTER  XXVI 
JOHANN   SEBASTIAN   BACH 

COMPARISON    OF    BACH    AND    HANDEL 

Johaiin  Sebastian  Bach  was  born  March  21,  1685  (twenty- 
seven  days  after  the  birth  of  Handel),  at  Eisenach,  in 
Thuringia,  as  son  of  Johann  Ambrosius  Bach,  "court  and 
town  musician."  At  the  age  of  ten  he  lost  his  father  and 
was  adopted  by  one  of  his  own  elder  brothers,  Johann 
Christoph  Bach,  an  organist,  from  whom  he  received  his 
first  instruction  in  music.  In  1703  he  became  court  mu- 
sician at  Weimar;  in  1704  organist  at  Arnstadt;  in  1707 
at  Miihlhausen;  in  1708  court  organist  at  Weimar  and  in 
1714  chapelmaster  at  the  same  place.  In  1717  the  nota- 
ble musical  contest  between  himself  and  the  famous  French 
organist  Louis  Marchand  took  place,  which  resulted  in 
Bach's  favour  and  gained  for  him  the  powerful  patronage 
of  Prince  Leopold  of  Anhalt-Kothen,  in  whose  service  the 
following  six  years  were  spent.  Upon  the  death  of 
Kuhnau,  in  1723,  Bach  was  appointed  his  successor  as 
cantor  and  musical  director  of  St.  Thomas's  school  in 
Leipsic,  in  which  responsible  and  honourable  position  he 
remained  until  his  death,  July  28,  1750.  During  the  last 
years  of  his  life  Bach  was  inflicted  with  an  acute  malady 
of  the  eyes  that  culminated  in  total  blindness. 

The  progenitor  of  this  remarkable  family  of  musicians, 
which  for  six  successive  generations  produced  many  more 
or  less  gifted  and  distinguished  composers  and  organists, 
was  Veit  Bach,  who,  in  the  second  half  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  was    a   baker   in    Pressburg,   Hungary,   and,   as 


222        ESSENTIALS   IN   MUSIC   HISTORY 

Protestant,  emigrated  to  Thuringia.  The  greatest  of  his 
descendants,  Johann  Sebastian  Bach,  belonged  to  the 
fifth  generation.  The  third  and  fourth  were  represented 
by  Johann  Christoph  Bach  and  Johann  Michael  Bach, 
both  of  whom  were  composers  of  distinction.  The  great 
Bach  was   twice  married    and   had   twenty   children,   of 


BACH'S   BIRTHPLACE,   EISENACH,   THURINGIA 


whom  the  eldest  son,  Wilhelm  Friedmann  Bach  (1710- 
84),  and  especially  the  third  son,  Karl  Philipp  Emanuel 
Bach  (1714-88),  became  justly  famous.  With  this,  the 
sixth  generation,  the  musical  genius  of  the  family  became 
extinct. 

It  is  instructive  and  permissible  to  compare,  with  dis- 
cretion, the  artistic  life  and  work  of  Bach  and  Handel; 
to  consider  the  characteristics  of  their  genius  simultane- 
ously in  their  individual  and  collective  relation  to  the 
historic  evolution  of  the  tone  art.  One  is  tempted  to 
infer  that  a  divine  purpose  prompted  the  creation  of  two 
such  gigantic  musical  natures  at  the  same  period,  in  order 
that  the  spirit  of  art  might  encompass  with  both  together 
that  for  which  either  one  alone  would  have  proved  in- 
sufficient. 


JOHANN  SEBASTIAN   BACH 


223 


The  diversity  of  their  talent  manifests  itself  in  the  re- 
spective tastes,  currents  of  conception,  and  spheres  of 
form  and  style  for  which  each  evinced  a  predilection. 
Bach  was  of  the  more  devout  turn  of  mind  and  had 
greater  sympathy  for  the  sacred  forms  and  religious  trains 
of  thought;  he  never  spent  time  upon  the  opera  and 
handled  secular  material 
only  in  his  instrumental 
works. 

Bach  was  essentially 
lyric  in  his  conceptions. 
Handel  was  a  dramatic 
genius — controlling  a  wider 
range  of  emotion  and  pas- 
sion. He  delighted  in  the 
secular  form  of  the  opera, 
turning  to  the  oratorio  only 
upon  compulsion.  He 
wrote  much  less  that  was 
strictly  and  purely  religious 
in  musical  essence  than 
Bach,  and  the  great  power 
of  his  sacred  forms,  the 
oratorios,  lies  in  their  suc- 
cessful   affiliation    of  both 

the  sacred  and  secular  styles.  In  his  oratorios  he  vitalised 
the  devout  elements  by  the  infusion  of  secular  dramatic 
intensity. 

Bach  was  of  a  quiet,  domestic  disposition,  given  to 
meditation  upon  things  within.  He  never  left  his  native 
country  and  was  rarely  absent  in  the  later  years  from 
the  city  of  Leipsic. 

Handel,  more  enterprising,  loved  to  travel,  and  viewed 
the  outer  side  of  life  with  zest  and  appreciation;  he 
yielded  readily  to  the  influences  of  other  nationalities, 
adopting  all  that  was  worthy,  to  enrich  his  own  Ger- 
man fund.     Bach  adhered  unwaveringly  to  German  taste 


JOHANN  AMBROSIUS    BACH 
(father  of  J.  s.  bach) 


224        ESSENTIALS   IN   MUSIC   HISTORY 


and    tradition    and    ever    remained    the    purel}^    German 
master. 

In  one  particular  they  were  aHke:  both  were  indefati- 
gable workers;  both  were  endowed  with  titanic  powers 
of  labour,  incredible  readiness  and  rapidity,  and  well- 
nigh  inexhaustible  productiveness. 

Handel  was  pre-eminently  a  vocal  composer,  thus  in- 
clining to  the  type  of  foregone  days.     Bach  was  equally 

great  and  equally  pro- 
lific in  the  vocal  and 
instrumental  forms  of 
composition,  thus 
constituting  a  mo- 
mentous turning- 
point  in  the  history 
of  the  two  styles. 
While  Handel's  gaze 
was  directed  outward 
and  partly  backward, 
Bach's  vision  was 
turned  inward  and 
forward. 

Bach's  numerous 
vocal  works  are  all 
(with  very  rare  excep- 
tions) of  sacred  char- 
acter, and  centre  in  the  life  of  the  Protestant  Church. 
Sanctity,  religious  devotion,  and  enthusiasm  distinguish 
his  conception,  which  often  bears  something  of  a  mystic 
impress.  That  of  Handel  was  as  open  and  frank  as  the 
light  of  day. 

Bach  was  of  too  simple  a  nature  to  engage  in  the  ac- 
tive revolution  of  old  forms  or  the  invention  of  strik- 
ingly new  ones.  His  tremendous  influence  upon  the  fu- 
ture of  the  art,  far  surpassing  that  of  Handel,  was  due 
to  the  more  concentrated  power  of  his  genius.  He  per- 
fected the  forms  already  in  existence — for  example,  that 


JOHANN   SEBASTIAN   BACH 

BY  C.   r.  R.   LISZEVVSKY,    1772. 


JOHANN  SEBASTIAN   BACH 


225 


of  the  chorale  and  that  of  the  fugue,  both  of  which 
attained  to  the  last  degree  of  maturity  in  Bach's  hands. 
He  utilised  the  chorales  of  the  earl}^  church  in  a  multi- 
tude of  forms — in  organ  preludes,  chorale  figurations, 
and  as  fundamental  motive  for  larger  works,  both  vocal 
and  instrumental.  The  cantata,  also,  achieved  its  high- 
est development  through  Bach. 

During  five  full  years  he  composed  a  choral  work  for 
every  Sunday  and  every  festival  service.  Among  these 
there  are  no  fewer  than  two 
hundred  and  twenty-six  can- 
tatas. His  artistic  traits  are 
all  distinctly  reflected  in  these 
cantatas:  the  profundity  of 
his  emotional  conception,  the 
power  and  activity  of  his  im- 
agination, the  degree  of  mas- 
tership with  which  he  wields 
every  factor  and  every  re- 
source of  technical  material, 
and  the  infinite  variety  of  de- 
sign. The  attentive  listener 
feels,  whether  trained  in  mu- 
sic or  not,  how  the  entire 
texture    and    design    unfolds 

out  of  the  thematic  germ  as  smoothly,  naturall}^,  and 
apparently  automatically  as  nature's  own  growth. 

The  art  of  counterpoint  has  made  no  advance  since 
the  days  of  Bach;  nothing  within  the  scope  of  possibility 
was  left  untouched  and  unconquered  by  him;  nothing 
essential  that  is  hailed  as  new  (in  the  most  modern 
works)  but  what  the  faithful  student  of  Bach  will  find 
among  the  harmonic  and  contrapuntal  delineations  and 
interweavings  of  his  music. 

Bach  wrote,  furthermore,  four  (or  five)  Passions,  of 
which  the  St.  Matthew  is  the  best  known.  The  rescue  of 
this  masterwork  from  oblivion  is  accredited  to  Mendels- 


WILHELM  FRIEDMANN  BACH 


226        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

sohn,  who,  a  century  after  it  was  written,  would  not  de- 
sist until  he  compelled  an  approximately  worthy  recogni- 
tion of  this  monument  of  sacred  vocal  art.  Since  then 
no  Easter  passes  in  Germany  without  its  performance  in 
many  cities,  and  its  supreme  beauties  are  becoming  known 
and  revered  in  other  countries  also.  His  sacred  works 
also  include  many  motettes  and  even  a  few  masses,  the 
most  famous  of  the  latter  being  the  truly  great  Mass 
in  B  Minor. 

Bach's  instrumental  creations  were  of  parallel  signifi- 
cance with  his  vocal  works.  The  concerto,  sonata,  suite, 
partita,  toccata,  fugue,  and  many  other  forms  had  all 
been  in  existence  long  before  Bach's  da}^,  but  he  extended 
their  design  and  conducted  some  of  them  to  the  last 
degree  of  perfection.  This  is  notably  true  of  the  fugue, 
of  which  he  wrote  many  for  the  organ,  and  the  univer- 
sally famous  Well-Tempered  Clavichord,  consisting  of  tvv^o 
volumes  of  twenty-four  fugues  (with  preludes)  each,  in 
all  of  the  twenty-four  major  and  minor  keys.  This  crea- 
tion stands  yet  wholly  unrivalled  in  the  domain  of  poly- 
phonic composition  for  the  keyboard  instrument  which 
became  the  modern  pianoforte.  Bach's  other  instru- 
mental works  comprise  toccatas,  fantasias,  concertos,  so- 
natas, suites,  partitas,  and  many  other  forms — for  clavi- 
chord, organ,  violin,  or  orchestra. 

Handel's  creative  activity  was  limited  almost  entirely 
to  the  opera  and  the  oratorio.  In  every  oratorio  he 
adopted  some  Bible  narrative  or  epic  as  text  basis,  but 
in  each  some  lofty  moral  precept  is  embodied  as  leading 
thought.  His  great  mind  was  fitted  for  the  grasp  of  the 
grandest  ideas,  and  his  broad  human  sympathy  gave  him 
the  power  to  clothe  them  in  a  simple  but  effective  form. 
Therein  lay  his  greatness:  his  art  was  divinely  eminent 
and,  at  the  same  time,  in  the  noblest  sense  popular.  For 
his  arias  and  recitatives  he  adopted  the  current  style  of 
the  Italian  operatic  school,  and  they  are,  in  consequence, 
often  charged  with  those  superficialities  and  mannerisms 


JOHANN  SEBASTIAN   BACH  227 


J  rcwt/^-*"'*—'   ^ 


Reproductiofl  of  the  original  manuscript  of  the  First.Prelnde  from  the 
Well-Tempered  Clavichord  by  Johann  Sebastiau  Bach. 


228        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

which  the  vocal  methods  of  the  day  demanded.  At  times 
Handel  throws  off  this  influence  and,  notably  in  his  ora- 
torios, produces  melodies  of  a  simplicity  and  straight- 
forward musical  beauty  that  are  irresistible. 

The  prohibition  in  England  of  the  presentation  of  sa- 
cred musical  dramas  as  such,  with  stage  action  and  ac- 
cessories, was  to  react  with  unforeseen  power  upon  the 
music  itself.  Deprived  thus  of  external  support,  it  de- 
volved henceforth  upon  the  music  alone,  with  the  means 
of  expression  peculiar  to  itself,  to  emphasise  the  charac- 
teristic traits  of  the  sacred  drama  with  such  distinctness 
and  accuracy  as  to  compensate,  to  some  degree,  for  the 
absence  of  visible  representation.  Handel's  genius  was 
equal  to  this  novel  task,  and  he  succeeded  in  individual- 
ising his  dramatic  characters  in  a  manner  excelled  in 
that  century  only  by  his  great  dramatic  successors — 
Gluck  and  Mozart. 

Handel's  somewhat  superficial  treatment  of  his  instru- 
mental accompaniments  is  easily  understood.  He  pre- 
ferred the  warm  human  pulse  of  the  voice,  alone  and  in 
a  chorus,  and  the  orchestra  was  no  more  to  him  than  an 
auxiliary.  So  incomplete  are  some  of  his  accompani- 
ments that  it  is  frequently  found  desirable  to  complement 
them  (as  was  done  by  Mozart  with  the  Messiah  and  other 
oratorios).  This  also  accounts  for  the  remarkably  small 
number  of  Handel's  independent  instrumental  works;  a 
few  suites  and  small  pieces  (lessons)  and  variations,  writ- 
ten for  his  clavichord  pupils,  represent  the  sum  of  them. 
His  best  instrumental  pieces  are  his  organ  concertos,  for 
organ  and  orchestra,  a  form  of  his  own  Invention,  arising 
(in  1735)  from  his  habit  of  filling  out  the  pauses  between 
the  acts  and  parts  of  his  operas  and  oratorios  by  an 
organ  performance.  His  organ  playing  was  a  great  at- 
traction and  excited  the  admiration  of  both  enemies  and 
friends. 

After  this  brilliant  era  of  Bach  and  Handel  the  sacred 
drama  and    ecclesiastic  music  in    general  gradually  but 


JOHANN   SEBASTIAN   BACH  229 

surely  deteriorated  during  the  succeeding  centurj^  and, 
yielding  to  the  influences  of  the  superficial  but  univer- 
sally popular  Italian  operatic  style,  became  shallow,  sen- 
timental and  devoid  of  contrapuntal  scholarship.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  secular  drama,  especially  the  opera 
and  operetta,  flourished  all  the  more  vigorously  and  be- 
came almost  a  menace  to  the  wholesome  growth  of  a 
serious  tone  art. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 
OPERETTA   AND   OPERA   IN   GERMANY 

GLUCK.   MOZART  AS  OPERA  COMPOSER 

All  efforts  to  institute  a  distinctly  national  opera  at 
Hamburg  and  elsewhere  had  been  but  partly  successful, 
and  for  a  number  of  years  no  further  attempt  was  made. 
But  the  time  again  came  when  the  growing  disfavour  of 
the  Italians  and  their  style  gave  rise  to  renewed  efforts 
of  reform  on  the  part  of  the  Germans,  and  this  time  they 
were  destined  to  attain  their  aim.  Active  and  practical 
protest  (with  more  or  less  indication  of  conscious  purpose) 
was  begun  in  close  succession  from  at  least  three  clearly 
recognisable  and  independent  sources.  The  first  of  these 
movements  was  initiated  by  Gluck,  who  adopted  the 
weapons  of  the  French  grand  opera  (of  Lully  and  Ra- 
meau);  the  second  by  Mozart,  who  started  from  the  ter- 
ritory of  the  Italians  themselves,  utilising  the  forms  of 
the  wide-spread  Italian  opera  but  infusing  into  them  the 
spirit  of  Teutonic  musical  conception;  and  the  third  was 
represented  by  the  German  singspiel  or  light  opera,  and 
comic  opera. 

This  last,  the  regenerated  German  operetta,  was,  like 
the  serious  opera  of  Gluck,  influenced  largely  at  the  out- 
set by  French  models,  but  only  as  concerned  their  external 
traits;  in  spirit  it  was  always  essentially  German.  There 
was  no  connection  between  the  German  operetta  and 
the  opera  of  the  Hamburg  period;  the  latter  was  still 
monopolised  by  Italians.  The  singspiel  struck  its  roots 
deep  into  its  native  soil  and  derived  its  vitality  from  the 
spirit  of  the  German  people.      It  was  further  vitalised  by 

230 


OPERETTA  IN  GERMANY 


231 


a  new  element — that  of  wholesome  humour  and  innocent 
jollity  of  that  type  which  is  inherent  in  the  life  and 
character  of  the  German  people — which  found  its  way 
as  a  matter  of  course  into  the  new  dramatic  styles  and 
was  most  carefully  fostered. 

The  idea  of  the  German  singspiel  was  no  doubt  incited 
by  the  French  operetta,  to  which  reference  was  made  in 
Chapter  XXIII,  and  was 
first  proposed  and  at  once 
realised  b}'  Johann  Adam 
Hiller,  whose  first  ope- 
retta, Die  verwandelten 
Weiher,  was  given  in  1766, 
at  Leipsic,  and  received 
with  pronounced  enthu- 
siasm. 

In  Vienna  the  German 
operetta  had,  it  is  true, 
made  a  few  attempts 
some  years  previous  to 
this,  but  they  were  com- 
parativelyfruitless.  Joseph 
Haydn  composed  a  comic 
opera  in  1751,  Der  krumme 
Teufel,  which  was,  how- 
ever, interdicted  (for  personal  reasons);  further,  Mozart's 
Bastien  et  Bastienne  (1768)  was  given  only  in  private 
circles;  but  from  1778  on,  the  new  style  found  enormous 
favour  with  the  Viennese,  and  from  that  time  until  the 
present  day  the  operetta  has  flourished  in  Vienna  without 
check  or  abatement.  In  i78oGluck  revised  his  Pilgrims 
of  Mecca;  in  1781  Salieri's  Chimney  Sweep  followed,  and 
in  1782  Mozart's  Belmonte  und  Constanze  was  given  with 
unending  success. 

In  1786  Carl  Ditters  von  Dittersdorf  (1739-99)  made 
his  appearance  on  the  Viennese  stage  with  his  widely 
famous  Doctor  and  Apothecary  and  at  once  became  the 


JOHANN   ADAM   HILLER 


232 


ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


CARL  VON   DITTERSDORF 


acknowledged  favourite  of 
the  nation.  What  his 
works  lacked  in  refinement 
was  more  than  compen- 
sated by  their  wholesome 
popular  element.  Other 
successful  Viennese  writers 
were  Johann  Schenck 
(1761-1836),  Wenzel  Miil- 
Ier(i767-i835),  and  Joseph 
Weigl  ( 1 766-1 846). 

One  of  the  most  eminent 
composers  of  this  period 
was  Georg  Benda,  of  north 
Germany  (1721-95).  His 
first  works  were  operas  in 
the  prevailing  Italian  style,  but  in  1775  he  jomed  forces 
with  the  national  party  and  turned  his  attention  to  Ger- 
man opera  and  the  melodrama — a  form  of  musical  art 
in  which  the  play,  spoken  throughout,  is  accompanied  by 
illustrative  instrumental  music  and  occasional  vocal  num- 
bers or  choruses  (as,  for 
example,  the  Midsummer- 
Night's  Dream  of  Mendels- 
sohn). The  instigation  of 
the  melodrama  is  ascribed 
to  Jean  Jacques  Rousseau 
{Pygmalion,  1773)',  but 
Benda's  Ariadne  (1774) 
was,  at  all  events,  the  first 
German  melodrama,  and 
the  forerunner  of  a  form  of 
composition  that  has  re- 
ceived the  warmest  recogni- 
tion to  the  present  day. 

In   Munich  Peter  von 
Winter  (1754-1825)  was  one 


G.   BENDA 


REICHARDT 


OPERETTA   IN  GERMANY 

of  the  ablest  most  and  gifted 
writers  of  the  German  opera. 
His  Unterbrochenes  Opferfest,  still 
a  favourite,  is  characterised  by 
the  simplicity,  dignity,  and  great 
dramatic  power  peculiar  to  its 
author's  manner. 

Ignace  Holzbauer,  in  Mann- 
heim (171 1-83),  excited  young 
Mozart's  lively  admiration  with 
his  Gunther  von  Schwarzhurg. 
Another  interesting  north  Ger- 
man was  Johann  Friedrich 
Reichardt  (1752-1814),  whose  works  still  enjo}^  a  measure 
of  popularity. 

Though  the  comic  opera  thus  proved  its  ability  to 
sustain  itself  and  become  a  significant  medium  of  musical 
expression  for  quite  a  long  time,  it  was  none  the  less  des- 
tined to  outlive  its  usefulness  and,  like  so  many  phases 
of  art,  suffer  degeneration.  In  our  day  the  terms  comic 
opera  and  operetta  have  come  to  signify  something  rad- 
ically different  from  the  charm- 
ing examples  that  bore  these 
names  a  century  or  more  ago. 
With  but  few  exceptions,  the 
modern  operetta  has  wholly 
lost  its  artistic  worth. 

In  the  meantime,  the  serious 
musical  drama  was  also  being 
made  the  object  of  thorough 
reform  in  Germany,  and  the 
movement  in  this  direction  was 
first  started  by  Christoph 
Willibald  von  Gluck.  He  was 
born  July  2,  1714,  in  the  Palat- 
inate, and  journeyed  to  Vienna 
cREuzE)  in  1736,  where  he  became  fa- 


CHRISTOPH   WILLIBALD   GLUCK 

(after  the  painting  by  jean  baptiste 


234        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

miliar  with  the  operas  of  Fux,  Caldara,  and  Conti. 
Gluck's  first  opera,  Artaserse,  was  brought  out  in  1741 
at  Milan,  where  he  had  prosecuted  his  studies.  In  1745 
he  went  to  London,  produced  three  new  operas  and  im- 
bibed lasting  impressions  of  Handel's  dramatic  style,  re- 
turning to  Germany  in  1746.  After  a  brief  engagement 
as  director  in  Dresden  he  chose  Vienna  as  his  permanent 
home. 

The  earliest  indication  of  his  reformatory  purposes  are 
perceptible  in  Orfeo  ed  Eurydice,  which  was  first  given  in 
1762;  this  was  followed  by  Alceste  (Vienna,  1767),  I  phi- 
genie  en  Aulide  (Paris,  1774),  Armide  (1777),  and  Iphi- 
genie  en  Tauride  (1779,  in  Paris).  His  last  opera.  Echo 
et  Narcisse,  was  written  in  1779  for  Paris.  Gluck  died 
November  15,  1787. 

Until  long  past  middle  life  Gluck  recognised  and 
adopted  Italian  models;  even  his  Orfeo  was  partly  under 
their  influence.  Alceste  was  the  first  of  his  operas  fully  to 
negate  the  old  style  and  distinctly  betray  his  determina- 
tion to  pursue  another  and  nobler  aim.  He  was  in  his 
fifty-third  year  when  this  took  place,  from  which  it  follows 
that  it  was  not  prompted  wholly  by  artistic  instinct  but 
chiefly  by  observation,  experience,  and  the  conscious  in- 
tention of  avoiding  the  abuses  and  banalities  of  the  Ital- 
ian stage. 

Like  Handel,  Gluck  was  a  man  of  dignity,  strong  char- 
acter and  purpose,  given  to  serious  reflection,  and  fitted 
for  significant  achievements.  The  kernel  of  his  reforma- 
tory plan  was  to  institute  a  more  just  balance  between 
the  poetic  and  dramatic  elements  on  the  one  hand,  and 
the  purely  vocal  conditions  on  the  other;  to  make  the 
music  not  altogether  subservient  to  the  demands  of  the 
singer  and  the  melody,  but  partly,  at  least,  to  contribute 
strong  and  appropriate  dramatic  expression.  In  his 
own  words:  "I  believed  that  the  music  should  be  to  the 
poetry  what  liveliness  of  colour  and  judicious  combina- 
tion of  light  and  shadow  are  to  a  well-designed  drawing, 


OPERETTA  IN  GERMANY  235 

inasmuch  as  these  serve  only  to  animate  the  figures 
without  impairing  the  outHnes.  .  .  .  Finally,  I  deemed 
it  necessary  to  direct  a  large  portion  of  my  endeavours 
to  the  attainment  of  dignified  simplicity,  wherefore  I  al- 
ways avoided  making  an  obtrusive  show  of  difficulties  at 
the  cost  of  clearness." 

Gluck's  dramatic  talent  was  unquestionably  superior  to 
his  musical  endowment;  in  his  operas  he  was  first  poet, 
then  musician.  The  separate  musical  forms  he  did  not 
improve;  his  works  demand  judgment  as  a  whole,  as 
complete  artistic  creations.  In  this  particular  Gluck  was 
like  Richard  Wagner,  while  Mozart  was  the  opposite  of 
both.  The  creations  of  Gluck  and  Wagner  are  poetic 
dramas  with  musical  colouring;  those  of  Mozart  are  con- 
ceived as  musical  dramas. 

Gluck's  innovations  were  far  from  being  promptly  rec- 
ognised and  countenanced;  Italian  supremacy  was  still 
too  mighty,  and  even  his  own  city,  Vienna,  was  divided 
into  factions  for  and  against  him.  This  induced  Gluck 
to  turn  his  steps  toward  France,  where  he  hoped  to  find 
better  singers,  and  more  S3^mpathy  from  a  populace  ac- 
customed to  the  traditions  of  Lully  and  Rameau.  On 
arriving  at  Paris  he  found  both  bufFonists  and  anti- 
buflFonists  arrayed  against  him,  though  his  success  with 
the  first  Iphigenie  was  considerable.  The  favourites  of 
Nicola  Piccini,  whose  reputation  was  high,  made  him 
the  declared  rival  of  Gluck,  and  in  1776  all  Paris  was 
divided  in  its  loyalt}^  to  the  one  or  the  other.  The  chief 
question  of  the  day  in  musical  circles  was:  "Are  you 
Gluckist  or  Piccinist?  "  and  the  answer  determined  all 
others. 

Gluck's  revision  of  Alceste  for  the  Parisian  stage  was 
but  an  indifferent  success,  while  Piccini's  Roland  was  en- 
thusiastically received.  But  the  worth  of  Gluck's  works 
was  not  to  be  ignored;  they  sank  deep  and  yet  deeper 
into  the  hearts  of  the  French,  and  when  his  second  Iphi- 
genie (in  Tauride)  appeared,  it  made  a  profound  impres- 


236 


ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


sion.  Piccini  had  the  daring  to  write  an  Iphigenie  also, 
but  Gluck's  victory  was  all  the  more  complete,  inasmuch 
as  Piccini's  work  betrayed  that  Gluck  had  become  his 
model.  Thus  the  German  opera  had  celebrated  in  Gluck 
its  first  triumphs  over  French  and  Italian  opera,  and  it 
assumed  its  place  in  history  as  a  power  whose  superior- 
ity was  never  again  to  be  doubted 
or  questioned. 

Gluck's  operas,  supreme  as  they 
stood  in  comparison  with  those  of 
Italy  and  France,  were  still  suscep- 
tible of  improvement  in  a  purely 
musical  respect;  it  was,  therefore, 
possible  to  make  another  advance 
step,  and  it  was  this  step  that 
Mozart  was  destined  to  take. 

Mozart's  principal  strength  lies, 
without  doubt,  in  his  dramatic 
genius.  (His  biograph}^  and  the 
consideration  of  his  relation  to 
instrumental  composition  are  given  in  Chapter  XXIX.) 
He  did  for  the  opera  what  Beethoven  subsequently  ac- 
complished for  the  symphony — elevating  it  to  an  emi- 
nence of  artistic  perfection  which,  from  the  classic  point 
of  view,  has  probably  never  yet  been  excelled. 

It  was  natural  that  Mozart,  also,  should  at  first  have 
simply  fallen  into  the  prevailing  current  of  dramatic  and 
musical  conception  and  have  closely  imitated  not  only  the 
Italians  but  the  better  class  of  German  operetta  com- 
posers. His  genius,  almost  cosmopolitan  in  its  scope,  en- 
abled him  to  choose  with  unerring  discrimination  what 
was  of  true  value  in  Italian  opera,  to  discern  the  best 
melodic  methods  of  his  own  countrymen  in  their  popular 
light  operas,  and  to  adopt  the  best  of  French  dramatic 
art — but  without  becoming  dependent  upon  any  one  of 
these. 

From  the  Italians  he  learned  the  true  power  of  song 


W.   A.   MOZART 
(after  the  painting  by  tischbein) 


OPERETTA  IN  GERMANY  237 

and  how  to  treat  vocal  melod}^  in  the  most  masterly  and 
effective  manner.  To  these  acquisitions  were  added  his 
own  innate  musical  qualities,  the  ardency,  deep  fervour, 
wholesome  simplicity  of  his  feelings,  and  the  seriousness 
of  his  artistic  labour.  He  was  of  a  most  cheerful,  opti- 
mistic nature  and  took  life  easily;  but  his  art  was  to  him 
ever  an  exceedingly  serious  matter. 

Mozart's  first  opera  was  composed  in  his  thirteenth 
year  (in  1768) — an  opera  buffa  in  three  acts,  entitled  La 
finta  semplice,  which  was  never  performed.  The  same 
year  he  produced  a  short  singspiel,  Bastien  et  Bastienne, 
that  was  heard  in  private  circles  only.  At  the  age  of 
fourteen  his  Mitridate  was  produced  in  Milan  with  tre- 
mendous success.  In  1772  he  wrote  //  sogno  di  Scipione 
for  the  Archbishop  of  Salzburg,  in  1773  Lucia  Silla  for 
Milan,  in  1775  La  bell  a  finta  giardiniera  for  Munich,  and, 
in  the  same  year,  II  re  pastore  for  Salzburg.  Besides  the 
music  to  Thamos  and  the  opera  Za'ide,  Mozart  next  wrote 
the  first  one  of  his  operas  that  was  to  become  in  the 
most  eminent  sense  famous,  Idomeneo,  for  Munich,  in 
1781.  In  this  work  Mozart  begins  to  tread  his  individual 
path  as  dramatic  tone-poet.  The  same  year  he  began 
Belmonte  und  Constanze  (or  Die  Entjuhrung).  In  1786, 
having  made  his  home  in  Vienna,  he  composed  the  Schau- 
spieldirektor ;  May  i  of  the  same  year  witnessed  the 
first  performance  of  Figaro;  October  29,  1787,  came 
Don  Giovanni  in  Prague;  then  followed  Cosi  fan  tutte 
(1790),  Titus  (1791),  and  finally  Die  Zauberflote  {Magic 
Flute),  first  produced  September  30,  1791,  a  few  weeks 
before  his  death. 

Mozart's  characters  are  musically  conceived:  they  feel, 
think,  and  act  in  tones;  each  person  appears  before  the 
listener  in  amazing  fidelity  to  nature  and  life,  in  his  or 
her  musical  characterisation.  And,  with  it  all,  the  condi- 
tions of  most  refined  musical  beauty  and  freedom  of  ex- 
pression are  never  sacrificed,  or  the  practice  of  technical 
scholarship  neglected.     In  view  of  the  qualities  Mozart 


238        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

possessed,  it  seems  regrettable  that  he  did  not  oftener 
turn  his  thoughts  to  loftier  themes,  but  in  this  respect 
he  was  the  child  of  his  times  and  died  too  young  to  have 
learned  that  art  does  not  achieve  its  greatest  triumphs 
through  artistic  perfection  alone,  but  rather  through  the 
nobility  and  sublimity  of  its  ideals. 

The  librettos  of  his  operas  are  almost  all  so  trivial  and 
even  vulgar  that  they  required  genius  of  Mozart's  calibre 
to  become  fitting  objects  for  artistic  dramatic  presenta- 
tion with  music.  Hence  it  was  here  again  possible  to 
advance  a  step  farther  toward  the  highest  aesthetic 
achievement,  and  this  time  it  was  Beethoven  who  was 
to  make  it  in  his  one  opera,  Leonora    (Fidelio). 

Mozart's  treatment  of  the  orchestral  accompaniment 
in  his  operas  was  also  of  extreme  significance.  The  de- 
gree of  co-ordination  and  independence  which  he  gave 
to  the  instrumental  parts  was  quite  unheard  of  before 
his  da}^.  His  orchestra  takes  as  active  a  part  in  the  un- 
folding of  the  dramatic  scheme  as  any  of  the  personal 
characters  do,  and  contributes  its  manifold  resources  and 
means  of  expression  to  a  far  more  vivid  and  animated 
dramatic  result  than  had  ever  been  accomplished  by 
earlier  writers,  and  in  a  fashion  later  pursued  b}^  Mo- 
zart's successors,  culminating  in  the  effects  created  by 
Wagner  and  Richard  Strauss. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

PROGRESS  AND   PERFECTION  OF  THE 
INSTRUMENTAL  STYLE 

KARL    PHILIPP    EMANUEL    BACH    AND    JOSEPH    HAYDN 

In  Chapter  XIX  the  incipient  formation  of  an  inde- 
pendent instrumental  style  of  composition  was  consid- 
ered. To  what  was  there  said  a  few  retrospective  words 
may  be  added. 

Primitive  music  was,  as  a  matter  of  course,  vocal.  In 
its  infancy,  music — as  artistic  tone  association — was  far 
too  crude  and  imperfect  to  exist  alone;  it  was  nothing 
more  at  best  than  vocalised  words  and  an  adjunct  of 
the  text;  it  was  not  ready,  for  many  centuries,  to  out- 
grow its  dependence  upon  the  older  art  of  poetry.  In 
the  course  of  time,  however,  the  specific  resources  of 
music  were  recognised,  and  during  the  sixteenth  century 
it  began  to  emancipate  itself  from  poetry,  to  distinguish 
itself  from  solo  song,  and  to  assert  a  measure  of  indepen- 
dence in  its  occasional  exclusive  application  to  some 
instrument.  Slowly  but  steadil}^  this  phase  of  its  artistic 
mission  developed,  until,  in  the  early  part  of  the  eight- 
eenth century,  through  the  genius  of  Bach  and  others,  it 
reached  a  degree  of  importance  and  independence  equal 
to  that  of  the  vocal  phase.  The  claims  of  instrumental 
music  as  a  distinct  domain  of  the  tone  art  were  firmly 
established;  in  the  course  of  the  following  century  it 
advanced  still  further,  superseded  the  vocal  domain,  and 
even  compelled  recognition  as  the  onl}^  genuine  sphere  of 
musical  conception  and  utterance. 

239 


240        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC   HISTORY 

This  gradual  shifting  of  the  conception  of  music  from 
the  vocal  to  the  instrumental  medium  of  expression  was 
most  noticeable  during  the  eighteenth  century  in  Ger- 
many. From  Johann  Sebastian  Bach  as  the  turning-point 
it  ran  successively  and  steadily  through  his  son  Karl 
Philipp  Emanuel  Bach  (1714-88),  Haydn,  and  Mozart 
to  its  fulfilment  in  Beethoven.  The  only  purpose  of  vocal 
music  was  to  impart  greater  emphasis  and  intensity  to 
the  words  or  to  the  poetic  and  dramatic  idea  which  they 
conveyed.  Instrumental  music,  upon  emancipating  it- 
self from  the  word  and  its  concrete  meaning,  was  obliged 
to  create  or  discover  an  independent  means  of  expression 
peculiar  to  itself,  within  its  own  specific  resources,  and 
to  establish  forms  suitable  to  these  means.  In  this  en- 
deavour immediate  success  was  not  to  be  expected;  the 
earlier  eras  of  the  instrumental  art,  with  Bach  at  the 
summit,  produced  simply  a  theoretically  correct  system, 
or,  in  other  words,  artistically  legitimate  music,  still  con- 
trolled and  partly  dictated  by  the  tradition  and  influence 
of  vocal  practices;  and  such  meagre  poetic  or  emotional 
essence  as  it  possessed  had  to  be  educed  directly  from 
the  element  of  tone  by  and  in  itself.  In  that  direction  it 
was  advanced  by  Bach  as  far  as  progress  was  possible, 
and  for  a  higher  degree  of  independence  and  power  it 
was  necessary  to  discover  and  adopt  new  channels  for  it. 

The  following  era  strove  to  cultivate  the  spiritual  es- 
sence of  tone  art  and  thus  to  fit  it  for  the  reflection  of 
human  emotions  through  its  own  abstract  mediums;  and, 
by  exalting  its  aim  from  that  of  mere  collateral  illustra- 
tion of  the  word,  to  magnify  its  power,  augment  its  re- 
sources, purify  its  individuality,  and  lead  it  nearer  the 
achievement  of  its  true  mission.  The  first  master  in 
whose  compositions  for  instruments  alone  the  successful 
endeavour  was  made  to  impart  independent  life  to  music, 
and  to  transform  it  into  an  actual  language  of  human 
feeling,  was  Joseph  Haydn.  From  his  day  up  to  the 
present,  music  has  gained  greater  distinctness  and  vivid- 


PROGRESS  OF  INSTRUMENTAL  STYLE     241 


ness  of  utterance,  greater  diversity  of  form,  and  the 
capacity  to  suggest  and  arouse  emotional  impulses  be- 
yond the  reach  of  words  and  human  speech. 

About  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  instru- 
mental forms  were  more  numerous  than  they  now  are. 
The  sonata,  for  one  or  more  instruments,  had  clarified 
into  an  established  structural  design,  its  development  out 
of  the  earlier  sonata  and  the  suite  having  been  consum- 
mated. At  the  same  time 
the  symphony  (a  sonata  for 
full  orchestra)  began  to  as- 
sume its  present  shape.  The 
parallelism  between  the  sym- 
phony and  the  sonata  is 
somewhat  misleading,  for, 
despite  their  present  identity 
of  form,  they  owe  their  origin 
to  different  sources.  The 
symphony  was  suggested  by 
and  evolved  from  the  Italian 
overture;  so,  too,  was  the 
three-movement  concerto  al- 
ready in  vogue.  The  distinc- 
tion between  the  overtures 
of  France  and  Italy  has  al- 
ready been  intimated.     The 

French  overture  consisted,  as  a  rule,  of  a  quick  move- 
ment between  two  slow  ones;  that  of  Italj^  on  the  con- 
trary, of  a  grave  section  between  two  rapid  ones. 

For  the  sj^mphony,  these  three  sections  of  the  Italian 
overture  were  detached,  and  each  enlarged  into  a  com- 
plete movement  of  greater  breadth  and  marked  individual- 
ity, without,  however,  wholly  severing  their  organic  re- 
lations. To  these  three  movements  (preceded  usually  by 
a  serious  introduction)  a  fourth  movement  was  soon 
added;  namely,  a  minuet — borrowed  from  the  suite — 
probably   by   Haydn,   who   is   known   in   history   as   the 


JOSEPH  HAYDN 
(from  a  sketch  by  quenedey) 


242        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


"Father  of  the  symphony."  Beethoven,  later  on,  fre- 
quently substituted  a  scherzo  or  other  movement  in  ^ 
for  the  minuet. 

Haydn's  most  important  predecessor  was  Karl  Philipp 
Emanuel  Bach  (1714-88),  son  of  the  great  Bach.  He 
wrote  exclusively  instrumental  works,  chiefly  for  the 
clavichord;  he  was  the  author  of  a  very  famous  method 
for  that  instrument  and  justly  regarded  as  an  authority 
of  the  highest  rank.  He  possessed  uncommonly  refined 
taste,  played  with  elegance,  delicacy,  and  tenderness,  but 

was  not  called  for  the  realisation 
of  great  aims.  He  infused  genuine 
poetic  fervour  into  his  musical 
creations  and  may  be  regarded  as 
the  originator  of  the  free  piano- 
forte style.  Haydn  venerated  the 
younger  Bach  and  admitted  hav- 
ing learned  a  great  deal  from  him. 
Joseph  Haydn  was  born  March 
31,  1732,  in  Rohrau  (Austria).  In 
his  youth,  which  he  passed  in  very 
needy  circumstances,  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  choir  of  St.  Ste- 
phen, in  Vienna,  on  account  of  his  fine  voice,  and  there 
busied  himself  diligently  with  the  theoretical  works  of  Fux 
and  Mattheson.  In  1759  he  received  an  appointment  as 
music  director  from  Count  Morzin;  a  year  later,  to  the 
same  office,  from  Count  Nicolaus  Esterhazy,  in  whose 
service  he  remained  for  thirty  years — until  the  death  of 
the  Prince  in  1790.  This  event  left  him  at  liberty  to 
accept  an  offer  from  an  English  manager,  Saloman,  and 
he  journeyed  to  London,  where  he  stayed  until  1792.  In 
1794  he  repeated  the  trip  to  England.  Toiling  cease- 
lessly, everywhere  revered  and  beloved,  Haydn  closed 
his  life,  outwardly  modest  and  simple  but  inwardl}^  ac- 
tive and  rich  in  great  achievements,  on  the  31st  of  May, 
1809. 


PHILIPP  EMANUEL  BACH 


PROGRESS  OF   INSTRUMENTAL   STYLE      243 


The  enormous  volume  of  Haydn's  works  can  hardly  be 
determined;  the  register  compiled  by  Griesinger,  and 
still  incomplete,  enumerated  one  hundred  and  eighteen 
s3'mphonies,  eighty-three  string  quartets,  twenty-four 
trios,  nineteen  operas,  five  oratorios,  twenty-four  con- 
certos for  various  instruments,  fifteen  masses,  forty-four 
clavichord  sonatas,  and  very  many  more  smaller  com- 
positions. At  an  advanced  age  he  created  those  two 
works  which  did  probably  more  than 
all  the  rest  to  establish  his  popularity 
and  fame,  the  Creation  (1797)  and  the 
Seasons*  (1800-01). 

Haydn's  greatest  power  lay  in  the 
instrumental  style.  In  his  operas  and 
sacred  vocal  works  he  was  content  to 
float  quietly  with  the  current  of  his 
da}^.  But  the  symphonic  forms,  whose 
outlines  were,  to  be  sure,  already  fixed, 
he  developed  in  so  original  and  radical 
a  manner  that  he  is  justly  regarded 
as  their  actual  founder.  Reaching  out 
beyond  any  of  his  forerunners,  Haydn 
systematised  and  diversified  the  form 
and  enriched  it  with  an  extraordinary 
wealth  of  entirely  new  eff'ects.  He  was  singularly  fond 
of  the  free  polyphonic  treatment  of  motive  development, 
and  strikingl}^  successful  with  it.  By  thus  employing 
thematic  manipulation  as  a  means  of  securing  broader 
architectural  design,  he  accomplished  results  quite  foreign 
to  the  older,  rigid  polyphonic  practices,  as  seen  in  the 
fugue,  canon,  and  similar  earlier  forms.  Haydn  adapted 
the  polyphonic  means  to  the  homophonic  end  in  a  manner 
surpassed  only  by  Beethoven  and  Brahms,  both  of  whom, 
in  their  symphonies  and  chamber-music,  often  evolve  the 
whole  imposing  tone  structure  in  close  logical  sequence 
out  of  small  and  apparently  unimportant  melodic  germs. 

*  To  the  poem  by  James  Thomson  (1700-48),  published  in  1730. 


SILHOUETTE  PORTRAIT 
OF   JOSEPH  HAYDN 


244        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

This  novel  mode  of  thematic  treatment  was  practised 
by  Haydn  with  the  most  supreme  feHcity  in  his  string 
quartets,  a  form  of  composition  which,  though  in  exis- 
tence long  before  his  day,  may  also  claim  Haydn  as  its 
originator  in  the  established  form  it  has  ever  since  re- 
tained. The  string  quartet,  as  most  transparent  and 
refined  of  all  styles  of  musical  composition,  is  best  adapted 
for  free  polyphonic  treatment  and,  therefore,  was  of  pre- 
cisely the  character  that  fitted  Haydn's  musical  taste 
and  conception. 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  Haydn's  instrumental 
music  flows  as  smoothly  and  freely,  in  the  cheerful  glow 
of  his  childlike  disposition,  as  if  it  all  came  quite  of  itself, 
evincing  neither  effort  nor  restraint,  and  notwithstand- 
ing his  incredible  productiveness,  he  was  by  no  means  a 
careless,  hasty,  or  superficial  writer.  Like  Schubert,  he 
possessed  a  source  of  musical  fancy  from  which  there 
issued  an  incessant  flow  of  melody.  Composing,  to  him, 
was  a  pleasure  and  a  necessity;  but  he  himself  declares 
"that  he  alwa)^s  wrote  with  care  and  diligence,"  and  his 
technical  command  of  all  harmonic  and  contrapuntal  de- 
tail was  supreme.  Without  being  in  any  sense  inconsis- 
tent in  his  attitude  toward  absolute  music,  or  requiring 
that  music  express  any  ideas  antagonistic  to  its  nature, 
Haydn  occasionally  yielded  to  a  fashion  of  earlier  days, 
and  then  still  in  vogue,  of  giving  titles  to  some  of  his 
symphonies  {Morning,  Noon,  Evening,  Night,  The  Bear, 
The  Surprise),  and  his  two  universally  popular  oratorios 
are  filled  with  musical  illustrations.  He  was  not  a  "pro- 
gramme" musician,  nor  did  the  idea  of  a  tone-poem,  in 
the  later  sense  it  acquired  with  Liszt,  ever  enter  his  mind; 
but  he  was  fully  aware  of  the  more  obvious  coincidences 
between  the  dynamic,  rhythmic,  and  melodic  movements 
of  music  and  those  of  the  physical  world,  and  he  did  not 
hesitate  to  record  his  recognition  of  them.  Hence  one 
important  source  of  the  vitality  of  his  music. 

The  distinctive  characteristics  of  Haydn's  musical  na- 


PROGRESS  OF   INSTRUMENTAL  STYLE     245 

ture  were  cheerfulness,  gaiety,  and  sweetness,  to  the  al- 
most entire  exclusion  of  melancholy,  pathos,  passion,  and 
even  of  intellectual  depth  and  grandeur  of  ideas. 

The  advance  from  Haydn  to  Mozart  in  the  domain  of 
absolute  instrumental  music  is  not  nearly  so  great  or 
momentous  as  that  which  Haydn  achieved  beyond  his 
own  predecessors.  Mozart  constitutes  a  significant  con- 
necting-link between  Haydn  and  Beethoven,  upon  both 
of  whom — since  Haydn  outlived  Mozart  by  eighteen  years 
— he  exerted  an  influence. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

MOZART  AS   INSTRUMENTAL  COMPOSER 

HIS    IMMEDIATE    SUCCESSORS 

Wolfgang  Amadeus  Mozart*  was  born  at  Salzburg, 
Januar}'  27,  1756.  He  received  his  first  musical  training 
from  his  father,  Leopold  Mozart,  a  man  justly  noted  not 
onl}'  for  his  musical  mtelligence  but  also  for  his  general 
scientific  learning.  Young  Mozart  made  such  rapid  prog- 
ress that  in  1762  (when  he  was  six  3'ears  old)  he  was  al- 
ready able  to  undertake  a  concert  tour,  under  his  father's 
protection,  to  Munich,  Vienna,  Paris,  London,  The  Hague, 
and  Amsterdam;  everywhere  he  was  acknowledged  to  be 
a  most  extraordinary  prodigy,  and  was  idolised  as  much 
for  his  childish  grace  and  self-assurance  as  for  his  rare 
artistic  talent.  His  first  published  work  (two  sonatas  for 
clavichord  and  violin)  appeared  in  1763,  when  the  lad 
was  seven  years  of  age;  and  mention  has  been  made  of 
the  opera  he  wrote  in  his  twelfth  and  thirteenth  year, 
at  the  emperor's  request.  In  1770,  at  the  age  of  four- 
teen, he  is  recorded  in  the  Salzburg  court  calendar  as 
concert-master.  In  1769  he  travelled  with  his  father 
to  Italy,  visiting  Verona,  Mantua,  Milan,  and  Parma. 
In  December,  1770,  his  opera  Mitridate  was  given  in 
Milan.  (His  career  as  opera  composer  is  traced  in  Chap- 
ter XXVII.)  In  1788-90  he  created  the  three  masterly 
symphonies  in  E  flat,  G  minor,  and  C  major  which  firmly 
established  his  fame  as  an  instrumental  composer  of  most 
eminent  classic  genius. 

*  Mozart's  full   name  was  Johannes  Chrysostomus  Wolfgangus  Theophllus 
(Amadasus)  Mozart. 

246 


MOZART  AS   INSTRUMENTAL  COMPOSER    247 


LEOPOLD  MOZART,    1759 


Mozart  devoted  his  energies  to  instrumental  composi- 
tion from  his  earhest  youth,  and  contributed  a  greater 
volume  to  this  kind  of  mu- 
sical literature  than  to  vocal 
music,  albeit  his  fame  rests 
chiefly  upon  his  connection 
with  the  opera.  Like  many 
masters  of  that  early  period, 
Mozart  was  incredibly  pro- 
lific, having  written  more  in 
his  short  life  than  any  dozen 
modern  composers  together. 
Besides  his  operas  and  other 
vocal  works,  he  bequeathed 
to  posterity  forty-nine  sym- 
phonies, fifty-five  concertos, 
thirty-three  orchestral  di- 
vertisments,  serenades,  cas- 
sationes,  and  the  like,  twenty-two  pianoforte  sonatas  and 
fantasies,  thirty-two  string  quartets,  forty-five  violin  so- 
natas and  variations,  fifteen 
string  duos,  trios,  and  quintets, 
and  a  large  number  of  miscel- 
laneous compositions  for  piano- 
forte and  orchestra.  His  last 
and,  in  many  respects,  most  im- 
pressive work  was  the  famous 
Requiem,  written  for  Count 
Walsegg  of  Stuppach  but  not 
quite  finished.  Death  overtook 
Mozart  while  he  was  engaged 
upon  this  work,  December  5, 
1791,  at  the  age  of  a  little  less 
than  thirt3^-six  years. 

Mozart  was  proverbial  for  his 
simple  cheerfulness,  his  ingenuous  goodness  of  heart,  and 
his  frankness,   free  from  the  remotest    trace    of   deceit. 


MOZART 

(from  an  engraving  by  a.  kohl,  made 

in  vienna  in  1793) 


248        ESSENTIALS   IN   MUSIC  HISTORY 

Though  perhaps  not  one  of  the  grandest  and,  intellectu- 
ally, most  powerful  of  the  great  masters,  he  is  surel)^  the 
most  amiable  character  in  all  music  history,  as  his  music 
is  at  once  the  purest  and  most  scholarly.  This  attribute 
of  musical  purity  and  refinement,  proof  against  the  most 
searching  theoretic  and  aesthetic  scrutiny,  is  the  salient 
trait  of  his  work.  The  distracting  method  of  life  he  was 
compelled  to  lead  did  not  in  the  least  affect  his  musical 
pursuits;  he  was  as  serious,  tenacious,  and  thorough  in 
his  art  as  was  ever  the  sternest  pedant,  but  without  the 
slightest  taint  anywhere  of  dogmatism  or  mere  scholas- 
ticism; his  counterpoint  is  natural  because,  even  when 
most  complex,  it  seems  to  unfold  as  free  of  technical 
effort  as  an  improvisation. 

Mozart's  greatest  strength  lay  in  his  dramatic  instincts 
and  expression;  hence  his  most  significant  creations  were 
those  in  the  secular  dramatic  forms,  which  he  advanced 
far  more  than  can  be  claimed  for  his  instrumental  forms. 
The  latter  manifest  all  the  wondrous  purity,  beauty,  and 
perfection  of  form  of  which  he  was  a  master  but  do  not 
really  excel  the  greatest  of  Haydn's  instrumental  works 
in  anything  but  superior  refinement  of  detail — surely  not 
in  originalit}^  or  breadth  of  spirit  and  conception.  This 
perfection  of  detail  is  chiefly  evident  in  Mozart's  manip- 
ulation of  the  orchestra.  In  consequence  of  his  accurate 
knowledge  of  the  nature  and  technic  of  each  single 
instrument,  his  orchestration  was  very  much  richer  and 
more  vital  than  that  of  any  of  his  predecessors  and 
became,  especially  in  his  operas,  a  medium  of  dramatic 
expression  of  great  musical  power,  vividness,  individuality, 
and  variety. 

Had  not  Beethoven  so  soon  followed  Mozart  and  over- 
shadowed him  with  his  power  of  reflecting  the  tremen- 
dous passion  of  universal  human  emotion,  Mozart's  in- 
strumental works  would  doubtless  not  have  fallen  into 
partial  neglect  and  even  oblivion.  This  is  deplorable, 
but  it  is  a  natural  consequence  of  the  rapid  growth  of  the 


MOZART  AS   INSTRUMENTAL  COMPOSER    249 


art  in  the  early  years  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Nev- 
ertheless, there  are  among  Mozart's  instrumental  cre- 
ations many  that  still  glow  with  immortal  lustre  suf- 
ficient to  perpetuate  his  name  in  the  history  of  the  tone 
art. 

In  the  domain  of  pianoforte  literature  a  number  of 
distinguished  writers  closely  followed  Mozart  (himself  an 
expert  pianist),  paving 
the  way  for  Beethoven 
and  that  imposing  array 
of  revolutionary  piano- 
forte composers  whose 
works  created  a  new  and 
most  significant  epoch 
in  music  history. 

Next  in  renown  to 
Mozart  in  this  field  of 
composition  was  Muzio 
Clementi  (born  in  Rome, 
1752),  the  founder  of  an 
eminent  school  of  piano- 
forte technic  and  style. 
At  the  age  of  thirteen 
Clementi  emigrated  to 
England  and  studied  so 
assiduously  that  he  was 
ready  to  appear  before 
the  public,  as  composer 

and  player,  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  with  sensational  suc- 
cess. He  travelled  extensively.  In  1781  he  met  Mozart 
in  Vienna,  but  less  as  friend  than  as  jealous  foe.  He 
finally  established  a  pianoforte  factory  and  publishing 
house  in  London,  where  he  died  in  1832.  dementi's 
creative  ability  was  far  inferior  to  that  of  Mozart,  but 
he  possessed  greater  technical  dexterity  and  thoroughness 
as  pianist;  his  style  was  noted  for  great  elegance,  bravura, 
intellectual  power,  and  remarkable  freedom.     In  his  still 


MUZIO  CLEMENTI 


250        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


famous  didactic  work,  Gradus  ad  Parnassum  (consisting 
of  one  hundred  technical  exercises,  studies,  and  pieces), 
and  his  other  numerous  compositions  for  pianoforte, 
Clementi  is  recognised  as  one  of  the  great  pioneers  of 
the  new  pianistic  era. 

Bravura  and  virtuosity  (briUiant  and  dashing  display 
at  the  cost  of  genuine  artistic  expression,  depth  of  con- 
scious feeling,  and  true,  wisely  guided  passion)  had  al- 
ready begun  to  flourish  in  the  super- 
ficial strata  of  Viennese  musical  life, 
especially  with  the  newly  perfected 
and  very  popular  pianoforte.  One  of 
the  first  and  most  serious  exponents 
of  the  best  aims  of  the  new  school  of 
pianism  was  Johann  Nepomuk  Hummel 
(1778-1837),  an  enthusiastic  admirer, 
friend,  and  emulator  of  Mozart. 
Hummel's  music  possessed  very  posi- 
tive beauty  and  scholarly  finish, 
though  based  largely  on  showy  tech- 
nical detail. 

Johann  Ludwig  Dussek  (1761- 
1812),  a  few  years  older  than  Hummel 
and  therefore  inclined  more  to  the  substantial  character- 
istics of  the  simple  old  school,  introduced,  with  obvious 
purpose,  those  elements  of  song  and  elegant  ornament 
into  his  pianoforte  music  which  were  subsequently  de- 
veloped by  Field  and  Chopin. 

Johann  Baptist  Cramer  (1771-1858)  was  a  pupil  and 
devoted  follower  of  Clementi.  His  excellent  etudes  have 
survived  and  are  of  real  musical  value.  Three  other 
famed  pupils  of  Clementi  were  Ludwig  Berger  (Berlin, 
1777-1839),  teacher  of  Mendelssohn  and  Carl  Tausig; 
August  Alexander  Klengel  (1784-1852),  famous  for  his 
very  scholarly  Forty-Eight  Canons  and  Fugues,  patterned 
after  the  JV ell-Tempered  Clavichord  of  Bach;  and  John 
Field  (Dublin,  1782-1837),  one  of  the  most  refined  and 


JOHANN  NEPOMUK 
HUMMEL 


MOZART  AS   INSTRUMENTAL  COMPOSER    251 

poetical  of  Chopin's  direct  predecessors,  both  in  style 
and  spirit.  Field  has  been  described  as  "one  of  the  most 
original  pianistic  phenomena."*  His  Nocturnes  were  a 
direct  inspiration  to  Chopin. 

*  Dr.  Hugo  Ricmann. 


CHAPTER  XXX 
LUDWIG  VAN   BEETHOVEN 

In  something  of  the  same  historic  sequence  in  which 
the  evolution  of  ecclesiastic  music  during  the  earl}^  cen- 
turies culminated,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  m  the  works 
of  Palestrina;  and  that  of  both  sacred  and  secular  dra- 
matic art  in  the  eighteenth  century  in  those  of  Handel 
and  Bach;  so  the  fulfilment  of  the  art  of  instrumental  or 
absolute  music  in  the  nineteenth  century  is  represented 
b}^  Beethoven,  whose  name  is  identified  with  the  greatest 
classic  epoch  in  all  music  history. 

Ludwig  van  Beethoven  was  born  December  17,  1770,  at 
Bonn,  on  the  Rhine.  Like  Mozart,  he  received  his  first 
musical  instruction  from  his  father.  At  the  age  of  six- 
teen he  went  to  Vienna,  where  he  attracted  the  attention 
and  interest  of  Mozart.  Six  3'ears  later  he  again  trav- 
elled to  Vienna  to  become  a  pupil  of  Haydn.  He  studied 
diligentl}^  with  the  latter  until  Haydn's  second  trip  to 
England  interrupted  the  course  and  compelled  Beethoven 
to  look  about  for  another  teacher.  He  chose  the  cele- 
brated master  of  contrapuntal  art,  Albrechtsberger.  In 
1795,  at  the  age  of  twenty-five,  his  public  career  may 
be  said  to  have  opened,  with  the  publication  of  his  opus 
I,  three  pianoforte  trios,  and  opus  2,  three  pianoforte 
sonatas,  dedicated  to  Haydn. 

From  this  time  on,  for  over  thirty  years,  Beethoven 
produced  an  uninterrupted  series  of  masterworks  of  great 
variety,  and  he  created  them  under  the  pressure  of 
an  unhappy  existence  which,  it  is  true,  was  in  a  great 
measure  his  own  fault.     But  he  bore  his  burdens  with 

252 


LUDWIG  VAN   BEETHOVEN 


253 


stolid  firmness  and  outward  indifference  though  keenly 
sensible  of  life's  disappointments.  Beethoven's  abso- 
lutely just  self-esteem  as  artist  of  extraordinary  genius 
provoked  constant  antagonism  with  the  world  about  him. 
Those  uninviting,  almost  rough,  traits  of  personality  and 
conduct  for  which  he  was  so  unfavourably  noted  were 
called  forth  and  nurtured  by  the  great  gulf  between  his 
restless  spirit  and  the  average  mind  of  those  with  whom 
he  was  forced  to  associate; 
they  rendered  all  intercourse 
with  him  difficult  and  unsat- 
isfactory and  thus  gradually 
estranged  him  more  and  more 
from  society  and  humanity 
in  general.  When,  in  course 
of  time,  that  most  tragic  fate 
that  can  befall  a  musician — 
the  loss  of  hearing — ^fell  to  his 
lot,  Beethoven  found  himself 
quite  alienated  and  isolated 
from  the  world.  It  was  a 
bitter  fate,  prepared  for  him 
partly  by  his  own  genius, 
which  found  no  suitable  com- 
panionship among  other  hu- 
man associates,  partly  also  by  inherent  incompatibility, 
and  partly,  again,  through  the  disappointments  and  mor- 
tification he  suffered  from  his  scapegrace  nephew  Carl, 
to  whom  he  was  more  than  a  father  and  who  appears  to 
have  been  the  only  human  object  of  Beethoven's  affec- 
tion.     His  death  occurred  March  26,  1827. 

It  is  customary  to  divide  Beethoven's  creative  career 
into  three  periods:  the  youthful  period,  from  1795  to 
1803,  extending  to  about  opus  50;  the  middle  period, 
1803  to  181 3,  from  the  third  to  the  eighth  symphony, 
including  the  opera  Leonora  (or  Fidelio);  and  the  last 
period,  181 3  to  1827,  embracing  the  great  D  Major  Mass, 


BEETHOVEN   MEDALLION 

(j.    E.    GATTEAUX) 


254        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


the  Ninth  Symphony^  the  last  pianoforte  sonatas,  and 
the  last  live  string  quartets,  in  which  his  genius  reached 
out  so  far  beyond  his  day  that  their  depth,  their  breadth 
of  dramatic  and  emotional  power,  their  eloquence  and 
perfection  are  recognised  and  appreciated  only  by  the 
chosen  few. 

Beethoven   seems   to   have   fulfilled    all  the  ideal   and 
structural  conditions  of  absolute  (instrumental)  music,  at 

least  from  the  classic  point  of 
view,  and  perhaps,  also,  from 
the  romantic,  and  every  other 
which  calls  forth  absolute  com- 
mand of  material,  seriousness 
of  ideal  and  purpose,  and  the 
most  complete  sympathy  with 
every  emotional  impulse.  No 
one  has  ever  surpassed  Beetho- 
ven in  any  one  of  these  attri- 
butes. And  the  true  nobility 
of  his  great  soul  was  not  wholly 
to  be  concealed  beneath  his 
somewhat  rude  exterior.  Mag- 
nanimity and  infinite  kindness 
were,  after  all,  the  incentives  to 
all  his  thoughts  and  important 
actions;  deafness,  misfortune,  and  uncongenial  surround- 
ings might  cloud  his  vision  at  times  and  cause  him  irri- 
tation, from  a  share  of  which  his  associates  could  not 
escape,  but  they  could  not  undermine  or  stifle  his  never- 
failing  philanthropy.  In  his  art  Beethoven  was  the  soul 
of  earnestness,  conscientiousness,  and  untiring  diligence; 
he  did  not  often  accept  the  first  suggestions  of  his  imagina- 
tion but  brought  his  keen  judgment  to  bear  again  and 
again  upon  his  themes  and  their  development,  incessantly 
probing,  altering,  and  retesting  until  his  instinct  declared 
the  whole  to  be  in  harmony  with  itself  and  with  the  con- 
structive purpose  to  which  he  desired  to  adapt  his  theme. 


JOHANN  GEORG 
ALBRECHTSBERGER 


LUDWIG  VAN   BEETHOVEN  255 

Beethoven  was  original  but  not  revolutionary;  that 
is,  he  did  not  try  to  overthrow  nature's  laws  or  to  in- 
vent new  ones  for  the  brief  gratification  of  startling  his 
public  with  novelties;  but  his  aim  was  to  extend  the 
application  of  existing  laws  which  his  great  genius  as- 
sured him  were  safe  and  correct.  Beethoven  never  vio- 
lated the  laws  of  tone  association,  but  he  found  entirely 
new  and  striking  methods  of  achieving  greater  results 
from  the  broader  and  bolder  application  of  these  laws. 
This  same  principle — the  skilful  tracing  of  new  channels 
for  the  operation  of  the  underlying  natural  law  without 
rebellion  against  it — was  not  exhausted  in  Beethoven's 
work,  and  it  never  can  nor  will  be.  This  is  the  principle 
that  was  carried  on  by  the  romantic  composers,  by  Wag- 
ner, and  b}^  Brahms;  and  the  greatness  of  the  succeed- 
ing masters  who  act  upon  this  pure  artistic  impulse  is 
gauged  by  the  degree,  first,  of  their  ingenuity  (imagina- 
tion and  skill)  and,  second,  of  their  loyalty  to  nature's 
fundamental  laws. 

Beethoven's  clear  natural  instinct  made  him  fully  aware 
of  the  basic  principle  of  "tonic  and  dominant  "(with  sub- 
dominant  as  alternative),  and  the  necessary  adjustment 
of  every  movement  in  tone  association  to  this  basic  law, 
as  recognised  in  every  work  of  art  which  the  normal 
intelligence  of  the  world  calls  classic.  But  he  extended 
the  working  of  the  principle  by  freer  modulation  (later 
still  further  extended  by  Schubert  and  Wagner — through 
the  latter  by  more  comprehensive  use  of  the  chromatic 
agency)  and  added  dramatic  keenness  and  tonal  beauty  by 
more  extended  use  of  the  inharmonic  auxiliaries  (later 
carried  still  further  by  Schumann,  Chopin,  Brahms,  and 
the  modern  composers).  His  treatment  of  rhythm  was 
moderate  and  but  little  more  significant  than  with  Haydn 
and  Mozart  (this  principle  was  later  greatly  developed 
by  Schumann,  Wagner,  Brahms,  and  Richard  Strauss). 
His  most  striking  service  was  rendered  in  his  expansion 
of  the  form  (structure),  whose  basic  laws  he  applied  with 


256        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

greater  appreciation  of  their  resources  and  logical  con- 
sequences (in  this  particular  he  learned  from  Haydn,  and 
stimulated  Brahms  to  still  more  imposing  architectural 
results).  The  instrumental  styh,  with  its  almost  exclu- 
sive dependence  on  form  and  thematic  deduction,  gave 


•iffi 


'^ 


him  ample  opportunit}^  to  probe  and  perfect  the  struc- 
ture. He  adopted  Haydn's  method  of  thematic  evolu- 
tion and  carried  it  forward  to  an  unparalleled  grade  of 
effectiveness.  To  evolve  an  entire  symphonic  movement 
out  of  one  small  motive  was  a  masterpiece  of  thematic 
logic  and  boldness  unheard  of  before  his  day  and  but 
seldom  since  achieved  with  quite  the  same  success. 

But  all  these  details  were,  after  all,  merely  technical 
means  to  an  end  and  would  not  alone  have  established 
Beethoven's  greatness.  It  was  less  how  he  did  it  than 
what   he   did.     These  were  only   the  means    (perfect   in 


LUDWIG  VAN   BEETHOVEN  257 

themselves,  to  be  sure)  through  which  he  gave  tangible 
form  to  the  visions  of  a  truly  noble  soul — a  powerful  and 
intense  language  for  the  utterance  of  the  most  sublime 
thoughts  and  emotions  of  which  the  human  heart  and 
mind  are  capable. 

Beethoven  seemed  almost  infallible;  he  is  the  one  fig- 
ure in  music  history  of  whose  compositions  the  daring 
declaration  might  justly  be  made  that  not  one  page  ex- 
ists which  is  not  artistically  perfect  and  beyond  criticism. 

His  attitude  toward  the  art  of  tone  impelled  him  to 
give  marked  preference  to  the  instrumental  style,  which  he 
cultivated  almost  exclusively.  The  opera  had  no  espe- 
cial attractions  for  him,  and  only  once  in  his  life  did  he 
find  a  theme  which  appealed  to  his  pure  spirit — Leonora. 
His  vague  intention  of  composing  music  for  Goethe's 
Faust  remained  unfulfilled,  as  did  also  a  tenth  symphony 
and,  naturally,  many  other  serious  projects.  The  sphere 
of  ecclesiastic  music  he  touched  but  rarely^in  his  ora- 
torio Christus  am  Oelberge  (1800)  and  his  two  masses  in 
C  and  D  major. 


CHAPTER  XXXI 
FRANZ   SCHUBERT 

To  this  era  of  music  history  belongs  another  veritable 
genius,  so  unlike  Beethoven  in  many  respects,  and  again 
so  intimately  akin  in  others  that  it  is  impossible  to  men- 
tion the  one  without  recalling  the  other.  This  is  Franz 
Schubert.  By  virtue  of  his  extraordinary  melodic  genius 
he  became  the  leader  of  a  new  lyric  era,  regenerating  song 
and  restoring  the  vocal  style  to  a  more  equal  and  partly 
independent  rank  beside  the  luxuriant  instrumental  art. 

Franz  Schubert  was  born,  January  31,  1797,  in  Vienna. 
From  an  elder  brother,  Ignace  Schubert,  he  received  his 
fundamental  training  in  music.  In  1808  his  exception- 
ally good  voice  secured  him  a  place  in  the  royal  chorus, 
and  while  there  Rusiczka  and  Salieri  became  his  teachers. 
He  also  studied  the  violin  and  in  this  way  made  himself 
intimately  acquainted  with  the  string  quartets  and  or- 
chestral works  of  Haydn,  Mozart,  and  Beethoven.  He 
began  very  early  in  life  to  compose  and  was  fairly  suc- 
cessful in  gaining  a  hearing  for  his  works  and  arousing 
interest  in  them.  When  his  voice  mutated  (m  1813)  he 
was  dismissed  from  the  choir  and  thrown  entirely  upon 
his  own  resources  in  the  struggle  with  a  world  which  he 
found  selfish  and  unfriendly;  for  Schubert  was  not  a  fa- 
voured child  of  fortune  as  far  as  worldly  prosperity  was 
concerned,  and  was  subjected  to  much  humiliation  and 
disappointment.  After  a  series  of  fruitless  efforts  to  ob- 
tain some  acceptable  position,  he  finally  regarded  himself 
as  deserted  by  his  kind  and  actuall}^  endured  bitter  pri- 
vations, with  but  occasional  respite,  until  his  early  death, 

258 


FRANZ  SCHUBERT 


259 


November  19,  1828,  in  his  thirty-first  year.  Of  all  the 
great  masters  of  tone,  Schubert  was  the  one  whose  span 
of  life  was  most  briefly  measured. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  very  few  mortals  upon 
whom  nature  showered  her  musical  gifts  with  so  lavish 
a  hand  as  upon  him.  He  seemed  quite  unable  to  store 
the  wealth  of  musical  ideas  which  constantly  replenished 
his  mind,  despite  the  incredible  mass  of  compositions 
that  he  created  in  quick 
succession.  The  themes 
and  melodies  which  he 
carelessly  cast  aside 
would  have  proved  more 
than  sufficient  for  a  half 
dozen  ordinary  writers. 
Chiefly  in  consequence  of 
this  productivity,  the 
majority  of  his  instru- 
mental works  present  fre- 
quent evidences  of  super- 
ficiality and  haste,  and  in 
but  few  of  them  is  the 
formal  structure  even  ap- 
proximately perfect  and 
as  well  proportioned  and 
eflPectively  balanced  as  it 
is  in  the  works  of  Beethoven.  For  Schubert  gave  free  rein 
to  his  fertile  imagination,  and  it  usually  impelled  itself 
far  past  the  sober  confines  of  correct  architectural  arrange- 
ment and  proportion;  but  the  region  into  which  his  im- 
petus leads  the  listener  is  at  all  times  and  under  every 
degree  of  stress  a  region  of  pure  melodic  beauty,  of  most 
wholesome  and  inspiring  expression. 

Schubert  is  said  to  have  given  himself  but  little  con- 
cern or  trouble  with  the  theoretical  side  of  music,  and 
the  study  of  counterpoint  and  composition  according  to 
the  lifeless  methods  of  his  day  was  deeply  abhorrent  to 


FRANZ   SCHUBERT 
(from  a  lithograph  by  kriehuber) 


26o        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


him.  He  did  not  appear  to  stand  in  need  of  anything 
of  the  kind;  he  studied  not  books  but  the  actual,  vital 
product  of  his  great  forerunners  and  contemporaries.  He 
prosecuted  this  wise  course  of  study  with  the  alert  ob- 
servation and  keen  perception  of  kindred  genius;  at  a 
glance  he  comprehended  and  caught  up  with  all  the 
knowledge  that  prompted  great  musical  strokes  in  the 
masterworks  of  Haydn,  Mozart,  and  Beethoven,  and  his 

power  thus  became  par- 
amount to  theirs.  This 
power  of  observation  and 
appropriation  was  the 
genius  that  nature  be- 
stowed upon  Schubert, 
and  this  it  was  that  gave 
him  the  ability,  when  he 
so  desired,  to  achieve 
feats  of  contrapuntal 
combination,  chord  suc- 
cession, and,  above  all, 
striking  modulation  of 
such  originality  and 
beauty  that  they  have 
become  proverbial  of  his 
style. 

Schubert  was  akin  to 
all  the  great  classic  mas- 
ters in  one  most  vital  respect:  he,  too,  rested  his  whole 
musical  faith  upon  the  basic  law  of  "tonic  dominant." 
Nowhere  in  all  his  music  is  there  the  slightest  trace  of 
rebellion  against  this  principle  or  of  a  disposition  to  search 
outside  of  it  for  an}^  novel  effects;  and  where  Schubert  and 
his  classic  colleagues  are  most  impressive,  where  they  reach 
the  highest  climax  of  dramatic  and  musical  power,  is 
where  they  fall  back  upon  this  basic  law  and  proclaim 
it  in  its  simplest,  most  straightforward  operation.  (The 
working  of  this  natural  principle,  through  Schubert's  con- 


ANTONIO   SALIERI 


FRANZ  SCHUBERT 


261 


ception  of  the  art  of  tone,  is  witnessed,  for  example,  in 
the  first  eight  measures  of  his  song  JVohin — to  mention 
one  of  countless  illustrations.) 


■■)i^^i 


|Mn  J'  fij 


^^ 


feg 


^ 


cu^  dU^    S'e£  - /t^-"^ - 


/€».»<.■ 


Schubert's  greatest  instrumental  works  were,  prob- 
ablv",  his  Symphony  i?!  C  Major  and  the  unfinished  Sym- 
phony in  B  Minor,  though  one  can  readily  name  a  score 
of  others  that  are  scarcely  less  significant  tone  creations. 
They  fall  short  of  the  greater  of  Beethoven's  works  in 
conciseness,  architectural  balance,  and  perfection  of  tech- 
nic,  no  doubt;  but  they  are  as  surely  superior  to  the 
latter  in  ardency  of  human  emotion,  and  in  beauty  of  mel- 
ody. This  last-named  element,  melody,  was  Schubert's 
distinctive  excellence,  and  his  place  in  music  history  is, 
therefore,  closely  identified  with  the  beginnings  of  modern 


262        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

German  lyrics  and  song  in  general.  The  German  song 
was  cultivated  in  some  degree  by  Haydn  and  Mozart, 
and  at  least  two  of  Beethoven's  lyrics  {Adelaide  and  An 
die  feme  Geliehte)  are  without  a  parallel  in  the  province 
of  pure,  fervid,  emotional  melodies.     But  in  Schubert  the 


SCHUBERT'S   CLAVIER 
(pen-sketch  by  moritz  von  schwindt) 

song  is  vitalised  with  the  elements  of  primary  melodic 
simplicity  and  sweetness  as  well  as  depth  and  force  of 
expression.  Schubert's  songs  are,  for  the  most  part,  folk- 
songs exalted  to  the  highest  grade  of  artistic  excellence. 
His  characteristic  indifference  to  external  matters  and 
the  rapidity  of  his  musical  conception  led  him  often  to 
a  careless  and  unfortunate  choice  of  words — or  neglect  of 
selection — and  it  is  in  this  respect  that  later  song  writers 
(Schumann,  Franz,  and  especially  Brahms)  made  sig- 
nificant advances  in  the  perfecting  and  idealising  of  the 
lyric  art.  Schubert's  distinctive  melodic  gift  sought  ex- 
pression, naturally,  in  both  the  secular  and  sacred  dra- 
matic forms,  and   gave   rise  to  many  operas — of  which 


FRANZ  SCHUBERT 


263 


Alfonso  und  Estrella,  Der  hdusliche  Krieg,  and  the  melo- 
drama Rosamunde  are  still  widely  popular — and  a  number 
of  masses,  Stabat  Maters,  cantatas,  and  hymns. 

Among  his  very  numerous  pianoforte  works  were 
sixteen  sonatas  (of  which  ten  or  more  of  supreme  beauty 
and  classic  solidity  are  everywhere  known),  the  famous 
impromptus,  many  popular  dances,  and  an  unusually 
large  number  of  pieces  for  four  hands — a  style  to  which 


SCHUBERT'S   BIRTHPLACE,   VIENNA 

Schubert  attached  more  importance  than  did  any  other 
classic  master.  His  chamber-music  was  almost  if  not 
quite  as  significant  as  that  of  Beethoven  and  included 
twenty  string  quartets,  two  trios,  the  famous  Forellen 
quintet  (one  movement  of  which  is  developed  upon  his 
song  of  the  same  name.   The  Trout),  and  an  octet. 

Approximate  Table  of  Musical  Progress  in  Centuries 
Since  the  Renaissance 

1500       f  Culmination  of  ecclesiastic  art.     Lasso.     Palestrina. 
(1525)      \  Birth  of  Protestant  chorale.     Music  printing.     Clavichord 
\        and  harpsichord.     Beginnings  of  the  instrumental  style. 

1600  Birth  of  oratorio  and  opera.     Development  of  solo  songs. 


264        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC   HISTORY 

1700  [  Bach.  Handel.  Domenico  Scarlatti.  Rameau.  Perfec- 
l  tion  of  dramatic  forms  and  emancipation  of  the  instru- 
[      mental  style  from  the  vocal.     Haydn.     Mozart. 

1800        f  Beethoven.     Schubert.     Perfection  of  instrumental  forms. 

Weber. 
(1840)      [  Mendelssohn.       Schumann.       Chopin.       Wagner.       Liszt. 
Development  of  romantic  style.     Brahms.     Tschaikow- 
sky. 

1900  f  Richard  Strauss.  Puccini.  Debussy.  Infusion  of  the  sub- 
\      jective  and  personal  elements  into  music. 


CHAPTER  XXXII 
ROMANTIC  SCHOOL  OF  OPERA  IN  GERMANY 

CARL    MARIA    VON    WEBER.       OPERA    IN    OTHER    COUNTRIES 

While  the  development  of  the  instrumental  style  was 
going  on  in  the  classic  epoch  of  Haydn,  Mozart,  and 
Beethoven,  the  two  branches  of  vocal  (or  mixed)  art,  the 
sacred  and  the  secular  drama,  pursued  widely  different 
avenues  of  fortune.  The  products  of  the  former  (orato- 
rio and  similar  forms)  were  insignificant  in  comparison  to 
those  in  the  domain  of  opera,  both  in  quality  and  quan- 
tity. Haydn  and  Mozart  contented  themselves  with  the 
easy  conditions  expected  of  sacred  music  in  their  day,  in 
all  but  the  Creation  of  the  former  and  the  Requiem  of 
the  latter,  where  the  impulses  of  genuine  and  strong  relig- 
ious feeling  are  evident.  And  the  monumental  Mass  in 
D  Major  of  Beethoven  is  but  an  isolated  specimen  of  the 
sacred  drama,  which,  with  all  its  originality  and  power, 
did  little  or  nothing  to  promote  the  form. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  secular  dramatic  forms  were 
again  cultivated  with  growing  interest  and  success,  es- 
pecially in  Germany,  where  the  opera  subsequent  to 
Gluck  and  Mozart  flourished  considerably.  But  it  under- 
went a  change  of  character  that  was  as  momentous  as 
it  was  comparatively  sudden  and  energetic;  it  shifted 
from  the  tragic  and  serious  to  the  poetic  and  fantastic 
sphere  of  dramatic  expression  and  soon  resulted  in  the 
novel  school  of  romantic  opera.  This  class  of  operatic 
creation  was  debarred  by  its  very  nature  from  attaining 

265 


266        ESSENTIALS   IN   MUSIC   HISTORY 


the  same  gravit}^  and  importance  as  the  more  real  and 
substantial  operatic  ideals  of  Mozart  and  Beethoven 
reached,  but  it  gave  birth  to  many  a  beautiful  product, 
indirectly  influenced  the  later  period  of  instrumental  mu- 
sic (for  which  it  prepared  the  new  elements  of  poetry 
and  romanticism),  and  constitutes  an  important  factor  in 
the  musical  history  of  the  nineteenth  century.  The  three 
principal  exponents  of  the  romantic  school  of  opera  in 
Germany  are  Spohr,  Marschner,  and  Weber. 

Ludwig  Spohr  was  born,  1784,  at  Braunschweig.  From 
1822  until  his  death,  in  1859,  he  was  orchestral  director 

at  Cassel.  Spohr  is  best  known, 
probabh^,  as  one  of  the  most 
distinguished  violinists  in  his- 
tory, but  he  was  also  a  produc- 
tive composer,  having  written 
nine  operas,  the  most  noted  of 
which  are  Faust  (18 13)  and  Jes- 
sonda  (1823),  several  oratorios,  a 
number  of  much-admired  sym- 
phonies, string  quartets,  violin 
concertos,  and  other  works.  He 
possessed  greater  inclination  for 
emotional  and  elegiac  expression 
than  for  the  dramatic.  He  was 
not  endowed  with  great  genius 
or  intellect,  but  all  of  his  writings  exhibit  a  noble  soul, 
a  fine  sense  of  poetic  impressions,  love  of  nature,  and 
an  irrepressible  fancy  for  veiling  all  in  a  romantic  at- 
mosphere. 

His  direct  opposite  was  Heinrich  Marschner,  born,  1796, 
at  Zittau,  and  from  1830  to  1861  chapelmaster  in  Han- 
over. Marschner,  though  possessing  dramatic  abihty, 
lacked  the  refinement  of  presentation  peculiar  to  Spohr 
and  that  depth  of  conception  in  which  both  Spohr  and 
Weber  excelled.  The  most  famous  of  Marschner's  unique 
and   in   part  excellent  operas   are    The    Vampire   (1828), 


HEINRICH   MARSCHNER 

(from  a  drawing  by  JULIUS  GIERE, 
1840) 


ROMANTIC  SCHOOL  OF  OPERA 


267 


Templar  and  Jewess  (or  Ivanhoe,  1830),  and  na7is  Hei- 
ling  (1832).  They  are  characterised  by  their  author's 
predilection  for  weird  and  demoniac  subjects  and  the 
realms  of  wonder  and  enchantment. 

Far  greater  than  either  of  these  was  Carl  Maria  von 
Weber.  He  was  born,  December  18,  1786,  in  Eutin. 
Giving  evidence  of  unusual  talent  at  a  very  early  age,  he 
was  soon  placed  under  good  instructors.  In  1803  he  be- 
came Abbe  Vogler's  pupil.  In  his  boyhood  he  wrote  a 
number  of  pianoforte  son- 
atas, variations,  etc.,  and 
even  an  opera,  which  was, 
however,  consigned  to  the 
flames.  In  1800,  when  he 
was  fourteen,  he  had 
finished  another,  subse- 
quently called  Sylvana, 
which  was  repeatedly  per- 
formed and  much  admired. 
In  1 801  Peter  Schmoll  fol- 
lowed. In  1804,  after  a 
course  of  faithful  study  in 
Vienna,  Weber  composed 
Riibezahl  {or^res\a.u.  From 
1806  until  1810  he  was  in 
the  service  of  Prince  Eu- 
gene of  Wiirttemberg,  in  Schlesien  and  later  in  Stuttgart. 
Returning  then  to  Vienna,  he  resumed  his  studies  with 
Abbe  Vogler  (with  Meyerbeer  as  his  classmate)  and  there 
produced  his  Jbu  Hassaii,  From  181 3  to  18 16  he  was  di- 
rector of  the  opera  in  Prague,  and  in  1817  he  accepted  a 
call  to  Dresden,  where  he  remained  until  his  early  death 
and  where  he  created  those  masterpieces  of  romantic 
operatic  art  that  made  him  not  only  the  idol  of  his  own 
nation  but  established  his  enduring  fame  throughout 
the  musical  world.  In  1820  came  Preciosa;  in  1821, 
Der   Freischutz;   in    1823    Euryanthe    (for   Vienna);    and 


CARL   MARIA  VON  WEBER 
(from  a  sketch  by  zoelner) 


268        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

in  1826  his  last  work,  Oberon,  which  was  performed 
in  London  under  his  own  direction.  He  was  not  to  see 
his  Fatherland  again,  for  he  died  in  London,  June  5, 
1826. 

Weber  surpassed  both  Spohr  and  Marschner  in  crea- 
tive ability,  fertility  and  imagination,  and  in  readiness 
and  freshness  of  melodic  conception.  Through  him  the 
romantic  opera  apparently  reached  the  greatest  eminence 
of  which  it  was  capable  in  that  period.  His  Freischutz 
is  a  German  folk-opera  of  enduring  youth.  Its  value  con- 
sists less  in  the  perfection  of  its  technic  than  in  the 
truthfulness  and  purity  of  its  character  and  the  primary 
simplicity  and  irresistible  charm  of  its  melodies  through- 
out. 

As  instrumental  composer  Weber  was  not  nearly  so 
successful;  still,  among  his  sonatas  and  other  pieces  for 
the  pianoforte  and  in  his  chamber-music  there  are  a  few 
movements  that  have  won  great  favour,  and  his  over- 
tures are,  almost  without  exception,  masterpieces  of 
orchestral  creation. 

Subsequent  to  this  brilliant  exponent  of  the  romantic 
drama,  the  opera  in  Germany  was  cultivated  by  a  num- 
ber of  more  or  less  gifted  writers,  partly  in  the  romantic 
style  and  partly  in  the  dramatic,  but  chiefly  and  most 
effectively  in  the  school  of  comedy,  which  for  a  time  led 
all  other  styles  in  Germany  as  it  did  also  in  France. 
The  most  significant  names  in  this  connection  are  Kon- 
radin  Kreutzer  (i 780-1 849);  Albert  Lortzing  (1803-51), 
justly  famous  for  his  delightfully  naive,  wholesomely  hu- 
morous, and  musically  excellent  operas  Czar  und  Zim- 
mermanji,  Waffenschmied,  and  others;  Peter  Joseph  von 
Lindpaintner  (1791);  Otto  Nicolai,  noted  for  his  Merry 
Wives  of  Windsor ;  Friedrich  von  Flotow  (1812-83),  com- 
poser oi  Martha;  Edmund  Kretschmer  (1830);  Hermann 
Goetz  (1840-76),  the  highly  gifted  author  of  Taming  of 
the  Shrew  and  two  excellent  symphonies;  Carl  Goldmark 
(1832),  famous  for   his   overture   to    Sakuntala   and    his 


ROMANTIC  SCHOOL  OF  OPERA 


269 


operas  Queen  of  Sheba,  Merlin  (1886),  and  Heimchen  am 
Herde. 

In  France,  Gluck's  distinguished  era  was  succeeded  by 
two  gifted  composers  who  adopted  his  theories  and  imi- 
tated his  style:  Johann  Christoph  Vogel  (born,  1756,  at 
Nuremberg;  died  1788)  and  Antonio  Salieri  (born,  1750, 
at  Legnano;  died,  1825,  at  Vienna).  Of  SaHeri,  the  Ger- 
man master  Gluck  had  a 
high  opinion  and  said  of 
him:  "This  foreigner  is  the 
only  one  who  adopts  my 
methods,  since  no  German 
will  learn  of  me."  Salieri 
was  Mozart's  rival  in  Vi- 
enna, and,  though  he  is  de- 
scribed as  an  amiable  and 
high-minded  artist,  his  envy 
misled  him  into  unjust  ex- 
cesses against  his  more  emi- 
nent colleague.  Salieri  had 
very  positive  talent  for  the 
expression  of  ardent  passion 
though  his  influence  did  not 
prove  to  be  very  enduring. 

This  fact  is  partly  true  of 
Etienne  Mehul  (1763-1817), 

a  precocious  youth  who  presided  at  the  organ  in  a  Fran- 
ciscan convent  at  the  age  of  eleven  and  offered  his  first 
opera  for  performance  at  the  Paris  Grand  Opera  when 
he  was  twenty.  It  was  accepted  and  favourably  received. 
His  best  work  is  Joseph  and  His  Brethren  (1807),  still  a 
favourite  in  many  French  and  German  cities. 

The  most  distinguished  of  all  the  composers  for  the 
French  stage,  subsequent  to  Gluck,  was  Luigi  Cherubini, 
born  in  Florence  in  1760,  died  1842,  and  for  some  years 
director  of  the  Paris  conservatory.  It  has  been  said  of 
Cherubini:    "  A  highly  developed  sense  for  the  beautiful, 


ETIENNE   MEHUL 


270        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


keen  intellectual  insight  and  clearness,  rare  freedom  and 
mastership  in  the  treatment  of  the  most  complex  forms 
of  composition,  and  extremely  thorough  erudition  are  the 
qualities  which  distinguish  Cherubini's  creations,  in  which 
the  greatest  seriousness  and  dignity  of  artistic  concep- 
tion and  method  everywhere  shine  forth."     Of  the  many 

Italian  and  French  operas 
he  wrote,  there  are  only 
two,  Medea  and  Les  deux 
journees,  which  are  still 
performed,  but  nearly  all 
of  his  overtures  have  sur- 
vived as  effective  concert 
pieces.  His  masses  and  his 
famous  Requiem  are  not 
strictly  religious  but  in- 
herently artistic.  Cheru- 
bini  wrote  some  excellent 
instrumental  works  and 
his  text-book  on  Cotinter- 
point  and  Fugue  is  one  of 
the  best  extant. 

A  less  eminent  but  in- 
teresting and  remarkable 
personage  was  Gasparo  Spontini  (born,  1774,  at  Majolati; 
died  1851),  composer  for  the  Paris  Grand  Opera.  His 
best  works  are  La  Vestale,  Ferdinand  Cortez,  and  Olympia. 
Largely  gifted  for  grand  and  heroic  themes,  Spontini  was 
fiery  and  full  of  vitality.  Theatrical  pathos,  supported 
by  enormous  orchestral  pomp  and  decorative  opulence, 
characterises  his  style. 

Other  eminent  composers  of  this  period  are  Jacques 
Halevy  (Paris,  1799-1862),  celebrated  for  his  admirable 
operas  The  Jewess  and  Veclair;  and  Jacob  Meyerbeer 
(born,  I79i,at  Berlin;  died,  i864,at  Paris).  His  true  name, 
Jacob  Liebmann  Beer,  was  altered  by  the  prefix  Meyer  to 
gratify  a  wealthy  relative.     Meyerbeer  possessed  greater 


LUIGI   CHERUBINI 


ROMANTIC  SCHOOL  OF  OPERA 


271 


JACOB  MEYERBEER 


talent  than  artistic  scruple;  his  fame  rests  upon  his 
grand  operas  and  will  probably  decline  with  them;  his 
love  of  originality  over- 
powered his  sense  of  dra- 
matic truth.  But  his 
rhythms  were  original 
and  effective  and  his  me- 
lodies often  truly  beauti- 
ful. His  most  famous 
operas  are  The  Huguenots, 
The  Prophet,  Robert  le 
Diable,  Dinorah,  and 
V Africaine  (produced  in 
1865). 

The  French  successors 
of  Meyerbeer  are  Am- 
broise  Thomas  {Mignon); 
Charles  Gounod  {Faust); 
Georges  Bizet,  one  of  the  most  promising  and  richly  gifted 
natures  in  operatic  history,  justly  famed  for  his  Carmen; 
Jules  Massenet;  and  Camilla  Saint-Saens. 

The  opera  comique  was  represented  by  Gossec  (1734- 
1829);  Francois  Adrien  Boieldieu  (1775-1834);  Daniel 
Fran9ois  Esprit  Auber  (1782-1871), 
also  ranked  among  the  most  gifted  of 
French  writers  and  author  of  serious 
as  well  as  light  operas — noted  for  his 
Massaniello  and  Fra  Diavolo;  and 
Louis  J.  F.  Herold  (1791-1833),  the 
author  of  Zampa. 

In  Italy  the  opera  continued  to 
flourish  after  its  own  fashion  and 
brought  forth  many  popular  and  to 
some  extent  delightful  products. 
Among  the  Italian  composers  were 
Salieri,  Sarti,  Paesiello  (1741-1816),  Domenico  Cimarosa 
(1749-1801),  Vincenzo  Righini  (1756-1812),  Ferdinando 


JULES  MASSENET 


272        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


Paer,  and  Nicola  Zingarelli.  In  1792  Gioacchino  Rossini 
was  born  at  Pesaro — one  of  the  most  original  and  richly 
gifted  representatives  of  Italian  (and  also  French)  opera, 
a  great  master  of  bright,  tuneful,  vivacious  melody;  fa- 
mous for  his  Barber  of  Seville,  William  Tell,  Stabat  Mater, 
and  very  many  other  dramatic  works.  He  was  followed 
by  Vincenzo  Bellini  (1801-35),  Donizetti  (1797-1848),  and 
Giuseppe  Verdi  (1813-1901).  Verdi  was  unquestionably 
the  greatest  Italian  master  of  the  nineteenth  century 
and   possibly  the  best  that  the    Italian  opera   has  ever 

known.  His  marvellous  develop- 
ment ran  through  three  sharply 
defined  phases.  The  first  was 
one  of  imitation,  during  which  he 
produced  a  number  of  youthful 
operas  in  the  light  but  undra- 
matic  style  of  the  times;  the 
second  phase  was  one  of  emanci- 
pation, represented  by  //  Trova- 
tore,  Rigoletto,  and  other  works  of 
far  better  musical  and  truer  dra- 
matic quality;  the  third  phase 
was  one  of  original  creation, 
marking  the  later  (and  very  ad- 
vanced) years  of  a  life  of  untiring  study,  conscientious 
progress,  and  artistic  growth,  and  produced  Jida,  Otello, 
and  Falstaff — operas  of  a  type  of  musical  beauty,  power, 
and  originalit}^,  besides  genuine  dramatic  vitality,  that 
assign  them  foremost  rank  in  operatic  history.  Since 
Verdi  there  have  appeared  in  Italy  Arigo  Boito,  Pietjro 
Mascagni,  Leoncavallo,  and  Puccini,  whose  accurate  his- 
toric estimate  cannot  yet  be  determined. 

The  historic  significance  of  Russia  in  musical  matters 
has  recently  become  so  great  that  even  the  early  examples 
of  operatic  activity  there  appear  to  assume  greater  im- 
portance than  they  formerly  possessed.  The  list  of  opera 
composers  is  brief,  comprising  only  a  few  names:    Michail 


GIUSEPPE   VERDI 


ROMANTIC  SCHOOL  OF  OPERA 


273 


Iwanowitsch  Glinka  (1804-57),  regarded  as  the  creator 
of  Russian  opera  and  famous  for  his  Life  for  the  Czar; 
Stanislaus  Moniusko  (18 19);  Anton  Rubinstein  (1830), 
who,  besides  his  fame  as  instrumental  composer  and  pian- 
ist, commands  the  respect  of  critic 
and  public  with  his  Demon  (1875) 
Nero,  Fer amors,  and  his  seculai 
oratorios,  The  Tower  of  Babel  and 
Paradise  Lost,  though  their  en- 
during qualities  are  questionable; 
Pieter  Iljitsch  Tschaikowsky, 
probably  the  greatest  musical  ge- 
nius that  Russia  ever  possessed, 
noted  for  Eugen  Onegin  and  other 
operas;  and  Modeste  Mussorgski, 
whose  opera  Boris  Godunow  has 
met  with  a  sincere  reception. 

England    has    recently   evinced 
considerable  activity  in  the  field 

of  opera  and  has  produced  a  number  of  composers  whose 
works  have  found  recognition  at  and  near  home:  Michael 
Balfe,  William  Vincent  Wallace,  Arthur  Sullivan,  George 
MacFarren,  Alexander  Mackenzie,  C.  Villiers  Stanford, 
Frederick  Cowen,  Edward  Elgar — all  noted  for  their  sec- 
ular dramatic  works  and  instrumental  compositions. 


MODESTE    A:USS0RGSKI 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 
ROMANTIC  SCHOOL  OF  INSTRUMENTAL  MUSIC 

FELIX    MENDELSSOHN 

The  so-called  classic  period  of  instrumental  composi- 
tion had  reached  its  fulfilment  in  the  music  of  Beethoven. 
It,  therefore,  seemed  inevitable  that  this  st)^le  of  musical 
expression,  like  the  opera,  should  cast  about  for  new  modes 
of  utterance.  This  tendency  gave  rise  to  a  wholly  new 
manner  of  conception  and  treatment,  characterised  by 
intensification  of  the  emotional  and  personal  phases  of 
tone  language.  Music  became  more  distinctly  individual- 
ised and  was  influenced  by  more  pronounced  subjective- 
ness.  Each  writer  sought  to  impress  the  stamp  of  his  own 
personal  emotional  life  upon  his  music.  And  the  time 
had  come  when  this  was  not  only  necessary  but  entirely 
feasible,  since  Beethoven  had  suggested  the  impulses  of 
personal  conception,  had  demonstrated  the  powers  of 
music  as  a  genuine,  fully  established  art,  as  a  full-grown 
medium  for  the  reflection  and  transmission  of  the  most 
subtle  movements  of  the  human  spirit.  The  day  of  ex- 
perimentation with  the  technical  apparatus  was  past; 
the  grammar  of  the  language  was  complete  and  estab- 
lished; its  powers  of  expression  tested  and  understood; 
it  remained  only  to  discover  the  profounder  depths  of 
its  spiritual  possibilities  and  to  put  it  to  those  finer  uses 
for  which  it  had  evidently  been  created. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  the  application  of  the  language 
to  these  purposes  should  at  first  have  been  awkward  and 
but  partly  convincing.  The  younger  composers,  in  thus 
endeavouring  to  give  vent  to  their  subjective  feelings  in 

274 


SCHOOL  OF  INSTRUMENTAL  MUSIC     275 


tone,  ran  to  extremes,  and  frequently  produced  extrava- 
ganzas of  childish  sentimentality.  But  there  were  men 
among  them  of  genius,  able  and  determined  to  direct  the 
dangerous  stream  of  emotional  freedom  into  safe  and 
proper  channels  and  to  hold  it  within  the  bounds  of 
reason  and  sense.  Foremost  among  these  were  Men- 
delssohn, Schumann,  and  Chopin,  who,  like  Bach,  Han- 
del, and  Scarlatti,  or  Lasso  and 
Palestrina,  entered  the  new  do- 
main almost  simultaneously. 

Felix  Mendelssohn,  who  affixed 
the  surname  Bartholdy  to  his 
name  in  honour  of  an  uncle,  born 
February  3,  1809,  at  Hamburg, 
was  the  grandson  of  the  eminent 
philosopher  Moses  Mendelssohn. 
He  had  the  good  fortune  to  re- 
ceive throughout  his  boyhood 
most  efficient  and  thorough  edu- 
cation as  well  as  musical  training. 
The  change  of  residence  from 
Hamburg  to  Berlin  was  momentous  for  the  youth,  who 
was  thus  brought  into  contact  with  Zelter  and  Berger, 
whose  pupil  he  became.  His  progress  was  rapid  and  at 
the  age  of  eight  he  was  already  regarded  as  one  of  the 
best  pianists  in  Berlin,  No  less  precocious  m  composition, 
Mendelssohn  had  written  four  operas  for  private  presen- 
tation by  the  time  he  was  fifteen.  In  1824  he  made 
the  acquaintance  of  the  celebrated  pianist  Ignace  Mos- 
cheles,  who  became  his  teacher  and  subsequently  his  warm 
friend  and  colleague.  Mendelssohn's  career  as  musical 
artist  was  determined  the  following  year  (1825)  upon 
a  visit  to  Paris,  where  he  met  Cherubini.  To  the  latter 
he  showed  his  B-minor  quartet,  and  won  from  him  most 
favourable  recognition. 

Meanwhile,  however,  Mendelssohn  did  not  neglect  his 
academic  course  but  entered  the  university  in  1827.     In 


FELIX   MENDELSSOHN- 
BARTHOLDY 


276        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

1829,  acting  upon  Moscheles's  advice,  he  undertook  his 
first  trip  to  London;  and  this  signahsed  the  actual  begin- 
ning of  his  artistic  career,  the  centres  of  which  were 
Diisseldorf   (1833)    and   Leipsic    (1835   to    1847).      Until 


un.-f 


C^A:H-H^L^Oi,< 


1841  he  was  director  of  the  famous  Gewandhaus-konzerte 
in  Leipsic;  then  he  accepted  a  call  to  Berlin,  but  very 
soon  returned  to  Leipsic  to  take  part  in  the  newly  organ- 
ised conservatory  there,  of  which  he  was,  in  fact,  the 
founder.  Here  he  laboured  until  his  early  death,  No- 
vember 4,  1847. 

Mendelssohn's  greatest  artistic  achievements  were  re- 
alised in  the  smaller  song  forms  and  in  those  instrumen- 
tal designs  directly  related  to  and  derived  from  them. 
These  song  forms  assumed  such  distinctly  bounded  musi- 
cal outlines  at  his  hands  that  the  poetic  and  metric  sup- 
port of  the  text  appeared  superfluous;  thus,  he  actually 
originated  a  musical  stjde,  based  upon  the  principle  of 
abstract  tone  expression,  for  which  no  other  title  could 
have  been  so  appropriate  as  the  one  which  he  selected— 


SCHOOL  OF  INSTRUMENTAL  MUSIC     277 

the  Song  Without  Words.  This  is  the  key  to  Mendels- 
sohn's whole  musical  conception  and  attitude. 

He  occupies  an  intermediate  position  between  the 
classic  and  romantic  eras  and  may  be  said  to  represent 
them  both  to  some  extent.  Like  both  Schumann  and 
Chopin,  though  less  emphaticall}^  than  either,  he  took 
his  start  from  the  pianoforte,  and  in  his  music  many  a 
characteristic  trait  of  the  new  romantic  trend  of  thought 
is  recognisable  from  the  very  beginning.  The  hollow 
display  and  superficiality  of  the  popular  virtuoso  style 
was  abhorrent  to  him;  and,  though  one  may  detect  in 
some  of  his  works  signs  of  similar  external  polish,  some- 
what at  the  cost  of  great  depth  of  purpose,  it  was  not 
from  any  weakness  or  uncertainty  on  his  part,  but  the 
natural  consequence  of  his  simple  and  rather  sentimental 
disposition.  His  diligence  and  earnestness  in  study  had 
given  him  command  of  all  the  technical  factors  of  com- 
position, and  his  works  invariably  exhibit  classic  per- 
fection of  structure.  This  mastership  of  music  form  it 
was  that  made  Mendelssohn  so  eminently  successful  as 
an  instrumental  composer. 

None  of  his  works  is  of  stupendous  character  or  im- 
posing ideals;  it  was  not  the  mighty,  awe-inspiring 
subjects  that  he  chose  for  his  musical  portraiture;  his 
pleasant,  amiable,  and  exquisitely  refined  tone  speech  dis- 
courses of  poetry  and  of  those  visions  which  his  fancy 
saw  in  fairyland,  or  of  the  deep,  untarnished  devotion  of 
a  sincerely  religious  heart. 

In  his  overtures  {Midsummer  Night's  Dream — com- 
posed at  the  age  of  seventeen — FingaVs  Cave,  Melusine), 
in  his  Scotch  and  Italian  Sympho7iies,  and  particularly  in 
the  scherzo  movements  of  his  chamber-music,  Mendels- 
sohn manifests  an  unexcelled  originality  of  tone  speech,  of 
refinement  and  of  purity  of  technical  finish. 

His  dramatic  works  are  far  less  numerous  than  his  in- 
strumental compositions;  they  are  powerful  in  a  certain 
sense,  though  never  overwhelming.     The  melodramas  ^4n- 


278 


ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


tigone,  QLdipus,  Athalia^  and  the  unfinished  opera  Lorelei 
are  of  less  value  as  a  whole  than  his  two  great  orato- 
rios, St.  Paid  and  Elijah;  and  in  his  other  sacred  works — 
the  fragment  of  Christus,t\\e.  Pja/wj,  motettes,  hymns,  and 
the  symphony  cantata  {Song  of  Praise) — all  the  fervency 
of  his  beautiful  melody  is  wedded  to  a  counterpoint  of 
rare  artistic  excellence. 


{fi^f^CUlc    fHa 


</<K'^- 


MENDELSSOHN'S   "JAGERS   ABSCHIED' 


CHAPTER  XXXIV 
ROBERT  SCHUMANN 

The  novel  current  of  romanticism  was  pursued  with 
far  more  obvious  purpose  by  Robert  Schumann,  in  whom 
the  pecuHar  tendencies  of  the  new  musical  era  attained 
a  definite  aim  and  achieved  signal  realisation.  He  is, 
therefore,  to  be  regarded  as  the  most  powerful  if  not, 
indeed,  the  first  pioneer  of  the  school  of  modern  romanti- 
cism in  music. 

Robert  Schumann  was  born  June  8,  1810,  at  Zwickau 
in  Saxony.  His  father  gave  close  attention  to  his  educa- 
tion and,  recognising  his  unusual  musical  talent,  planned 
to  place  him  under  the  tuition  of  Weber.  But  upon  his 
father's  death  Schumann  yielded  to  his  mother's  wishes 
and  adopted  the  study  of  law  at  the  University  of  Leip- 
sic.  Here,  however,  as  well  as  at  Heidelberg,  he  was 
more  interested  and  zealous  in  his  musical  occupation 
than  in  his  attention  to  jurisprudence  and  finally  obtained 
his  mother's  consent  to  discontinue  the  latter  and  devote 
his  life  to  music. 

Upon  beginning  his  pianoforte  studies  with  Friedrich 
Wieck  he  proceeded  so  rashly  in  his  technical  exercises  as 
to  injure  a  finger  permanently;  this  accident,  though  the 
cause  of  bitter  regret  to  himself  at  the  moment,  was  no 
doubt  all  the  more  fortunate  for  posterity,  for  it  com- 
pelled him  (not  altogether  against  his  inclination)  to  turn 
his  attention  almost  exclusively  to  composition.  In  1831 
his  first  works  were  published;  they  were  for  the  piano- 
forte, the  Ahegg  Fariatiofis  and  the  Papillons.  Up  to 
and   including  opus  23  he  wrote  nothing  but  pianoforte 

279 


28o        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


pieces.  It  was  not  until  he  finally  surmounted  her  fa- 
ther's persistent  objections  and  married  Clara  Wieck 
(the  daughter  of  his  old  teacher,  and  herself  an  accom- 
plished pianist)  that  the  thought  of  vocal  writing  seems 
to  have  entered  his  mind.  In  1840,  the  year  of  his  mar- 
riage, his  first  book  of  songs  appeared  as  opus  24.  At  the 
same  time  he  began  to  give  voice  to  his  advanced  and 
almost  revolutionary  artistic  views  and  convictions,  in 
literary  form,  and  wrote  not  only  in  the  interest  of  his  own 

prmciples  but  as  unselfish  cham- 
pion of  the  new  and  not  gener- 
ally accepted  creations  of  Chopin, 
particularly,  and  also  of  Schubert, 
Mendelssohn,  and  Brahms.  The 
assistance  he  thus  rendered  to 
these  and  many  other  young  au- 
thors was  significant.  Composi- 
tion, however,  continued  to  be  his 
chief  occupation,  and  after  the 
publication  of  his  first  symphony 
(opus  38,  in  1841),  his  productions 
appeared  in  rapid  succession.  In 
1845  he  moved  from  Leipsic  to 
Dresden;  in  1850  to  Diisseldorf, 
in  which  city,  early  in  1854,  his  reason  succumbed  to  a  lurk- 
ing brain  disease,  probably  congenital,  which  had  been 
haunting  him  for  many  years.  He  threw  himself  into  the 
Rhine,  whence  he  was  rescued,  but  only  to  be  transported, 
hopelessly  insane,  to  an  asylum  in  Endenich,  where  he 
died  July  29,  1856. 

It  has  been  shown  that  Schumann  took  his  start  from 
the  pianoforte.  From  the  very  outset  he  opened  up  a  new 
world  of  musical  expression.  No  other  composer  ever 
manifested  his  originality  so  abruptly  and  comprehen- 
sively as  did  Schumann,  and  it  would  be  difficult  to  name 
another  whose  individuality  was  as  striking  and  radical 
as  his.     His  tone  images  cannot  be  compared  with  any- 


ROBERT  SCHUMANN 


ROBERT  SCHUMANN 


281 


thing  in  music  before  his  day — except  such  transient  sug- 
gestions as  may  be  found  in  the  all-embracing  art  of 
Bach  and  Beethoven.  They  were  attempts  to  achieve 
the  greatest  possible  distinctness  of  expression;  poetic 
moods,  thoughts,  and  scenes  are  clothed  in  musical  id- 
iom and  framed  in  unique 
small  forms  quite  peculiar 
to  Schumann.  The  ele- 
ments of  poetry,  of  hu- 
mour, and  most  vivid 
fancy  are  all  represented 
in  his  music,  and  through 
them  all  the  reflective 
mind  of  the  German  phi- 
losopher can  be  traced,  im- 
posing, at  times,  strange 
fetters  upon  an  imagina- 
tion whose  power  they  but 
imperfectl}^  restrain. 

It  is  undeniable  that 
Schumann's  genius  lacked 
the  perfect  poise  and  men- 
tal control  possessed  by 
Beethoven  and  other  mas- 
ters. In  very  few  of  his  works  can  one  prove  the  presence 
of  both  instinct  and  intellect  in  equal  balance.  He  may 
have  been  conscious  of  this,  for  in  all  his  works  and 
throughout  his  life  one  recognises  an  unceasing  yearning, 
a  struggle  after  some  unrealised  ideal,  the  evidences  of 
which  are  often  as  disappointing  to  the  listener  as  they 
must  have  been  to  the  composer  himself.  Very  few  of 
his  ideas  find  such  easy  voice  as  did  those  of  Mozart  and 
Schubert;  few  appeal  to  us  with  the  force  of  simple,  plain 
truth.  Even  in  his  most  flowing  and  unconstrained  move- 
ments, frequent  halts  and  other  signs  of  uncertain  logic 
mar  the  continuity  and  coherency  of  the  formal  structure 
as  a  whole  and  disturb  quiet  enjoyment.     Hence,  there 


CLARA   SCHUMANN 
(bust  by  friedrich  hausmann) 


282        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

are  few  if  any  of  Schumann's  compositions  that  leave  an 
entirely  satisfied  impression.  In  every  separate  particle 
they  are  of  thrilling  originality  and  melodic  and  harmonic 
beauty;  but  the  particles  do  not  wholly  harmonise  with 
each  other,  do  not  develop  one  out  of  another  with  that 
truthfulness  and  simplicity  of  logical  sequence  that  is  dis- 
tinctive of  perfect  musical  form,  so  admirably  achieved 
in  the  classic  products  of  Mozart,  Beethoven,  and  Brahms. 

In  a  word,  much  of  Schumann's  music  is  eccentric.  It 
contains  more  of  each  single  emotional  attribute  than 
is  present  in  the  music  of  any  composer  before  his  day, 
but  often  in  such  haphazard  succession  and  under  such 
insufficient  control  that  it  disappoints  while  it  trans- 
ports the  listener.  This  was  the  inevitable  consequence 
of  the  peculiarity  of  his  musical  conception;  in  his  life- 
long struggle  to  realise  effects  for  which  musical  speech 
was  not  yet  fitted,  in  the  conflict  between  his  own  extrava- 
gant fancies  and  the  medium  of  their  utterance,  he  found 
neither  inclination  nor  time  to  busy  himself  with  the 
conditions  of  formal  structure.  His  eccentricity  found 
ready  expression  in  original  and  singular  rhythmic  forma- 
tions— so  divergent  from  foregone  models  that  they 
aroused  the  comment,  at  times,  that  Schumann  strove 
after  effect.  That  was  never  true;  he  was  both  too  richly 
endowed  and  too  noble-minded  for  this,  a  trait  so  com- 
mon among  the  virtuosi  of  his  day;  he  simply  aimed  to 
obtain  the  clearest  and  most  accurate  expression  of  his 
ideas  and  employed  what  he  deemed  the  most  suitable 
means. 

In  his  songs  Schumann  appeared  at  his  best;  here 
the  guidance  and  support  which  the  distinct  form  and 
signification  of  the  words  afforded  him,  withheld  him  from 
digression  and  uncertain  experiment.  They  are  not  only 
the  best  of  Schumann's  creations  but  rank  among  the 
most  poetic  and  musically  perfect  types  in  the  sphere  of 
lyrics.  In  these  the  instrumental  accompaniment  ceases 
to  be  a  mere  auxiliary,  as  in  the  songs  of  earlier  writers 


ROBERT  SCHUMANN  283 

(even  including  Schubert,  for  the  greater  part),  and  be- 
comes an  essential  and  co-ordinate  factor  in  their  crea- 
tion. The  same  is  true  of  his  larger  vocal  works,  the 
cantatas,  Paradise  and  the  Peri,  Pilgrimage  of  the  Rose, 
and  very  notably  in  the  music  to  Goethe's  Faust.  Of  his 
one  opera,  Genoveva,  it  is  obvious  that  Schumann  had 
undertaken  a  task  of  such  magnitude  as  his  restless  mind 
could  not  completely  encompass. 

Among  Schumann's  best  instrumental  works  are  the 
quartet  in  E  flat,  the  quintet,  the  trio  in  D  minor — for 
pianoforte  and  strings;  the  impressive  pianoforte  con- 
certo in  A  minor;  the  pianoforte  sonata  in  G  minor;  and 
the  symphonies  in  B  flat  and  D  minor,  albeit  the  latter 
(the  symphony  in  D  minor),  in  common  with  his  other 
symphonies  and  overtures,  is  an  almost  aggravating  mix- 
ture of  transcendent  beauties  and  mortal  frailties,  fas- 
cinating and  replete  with  great  genius  in  each  separate 
detail  but  inadequate  in  orchestration  and  illogical  in 
formal  structure. 


CHAPTER  XXXV 
FREDERIC  CHOPIN 

Far  more  placid  and  harmonious  in  themselves,  though 
less  strikingly  original  than  those  of  Robert  Schumann, 
are  the  compositions  of  Frederic  Chopin.  This  remark- 
able tone-poet  was  born  February  22,  1810,  near  Warsaw. 
His  father  was  French,  his  mother  a  native  of  Poland. 
At  the  age  of  nine  Chopin  appeared  before  the  public 
and  was  recognised  as  a  prodigy  of  extraordinary  promise. 
In  1828  he  left  his  native  cit}^,  a  full-fledged  pianoforte 
virtuoso  of  the  most  serious-minded  class,  and  turned 
his  steps  toward  Paris  by  way  of  Vienna  and  Munich. 
He  has  been  compared  to  a  meteor  in  the  musical 
heavens,  shining  with  dazzling  brilliancy  during  a  brief 
career  and  then  vanishing,  but  not  without  leaving  an 
indelible  impression  upon  his  era  and  upon  the  whole 
range  of  music  history. 

Schumann  was  one  of  the  first  to  recognise  Chopin's 
genius  and  to  direct  attention  to  his  original  art  crea- 
tions. Chopin's  opus  2  (the  Don  Juan  Variations)  re- 
vealed to  Schumann's  keen  vision  the  unmistakable  gift 
of  its  author.  At  that  time  Chopin  was,  indeed,  a  fin- 
ished master,  especially  of  the  pianoforte  style.  His  two 
Concertos  in  E  minor  and  F  minor,  whose  excellence 
he  himself  probably  never  surpassed  in  his  later  works, 
were  lying  finished  in  his  portfolio  as  he  journeyed  to  the 
French  capital.  There  he  was  immediately  welcomed 
and  idolised  as  an  inimitable  virtuoso  and  much  sought 
after  as  teacher.  His  sensitive,  though  by  no  means 
melancholy,   disposition  was    seriously    affected    and    his 


FREDERIC  CHOPIN 


285 


bodil}^  health  undermined  soon  after  by  a  pidmonary 
disorder  which  proved  to  be  progressive,  and  was  des- 
tined to  hastei.  his  end.  In  1838  he  went  to  Majorca  for 
his  health  in  company  with  Madame  George  Sand,  the 
celebrated  writer.  His  condition  grew  steadily  worse. 
In  the  spring  of  1849  he,  nevertheless,  yielded  to  his  long- 
cherished  desire  to  visit  England 
and  Scotland.  Returning  shortly, 
completeh^  exhausted,  to  Paris,  he 
died  there  October  17,  1849, 

Chopin's  creative  labour  was  con- 
fined (excepting  only  a  few  songs) 
to  composition  for  the  pianoforte. 
He,  also,  like  his  great  contempo- 
rary Schumann,  did  not  suffer  the 
technical  rules  of  form  to  trammel 
his  imagination;  but  for  a  different 
reason.  It  cannot  be  declared  that 
Chopm's  works  are  without  correct 
and  adequate  structural  funda- 
ment, for  their  continuity  of  de- 
velopment and  their  harmony  of 
proportions  render  them  as  fault- 
less   m    their    sphere    as    were   the 

forms  of  Beethoven.  If  he  did  not  adopt  the  traditional 
formal  designs  of  the  classic  masters,  he,  nevertheless, 
succeeded  always  in  finding  the  appropriate  setting  for 
ideas  which  are  of  singular  poetic  import  and  depth. 
He  never  betrays  any  effort  which  might  imply  calcula- 
tion or  search  after  a  given  design.  His  mastership  of  his 
material  and  of  the  specific  nature  of  the  pianoforte  is 
nowhere  more  apparent  than  in  his  treatment  of  the  de- 
tails; in  this  respect  he  discovered  whollj^  new  paths  and 
manifested  a  degree  of  technical  skill,  refinement,  and 
accuracy  of  expression  that  are  inimitable. 

Chopin  was  the  founder  of  an  original  style  of  piano- 
forte   melody    and    technic    unknown    before     his    time 


FREDERIC   CHOPIN 
(after  the  portrait  by 

ARY    SCHEFFER) 


286        ESSENTIALS   IN   MUSIC   HISTORY 

save  as  dimly  foreshadowed  here  and  there  in  the  writ- 
ings of  Hummel,  Dussek,  and  Field.  The  charms  of  his 
melody  and  harmony  are  as  unique  as  they  are  eminent 
and  enduring;  one  does  not  tire  of  his  vivid  tone  pic- 
tures, reflecting  a  realm  of  beauty  that  no  other  vision 
seemed  to  reach  but  his.  The  limitation  of  his  musical 
conceptions  to  one  instrument  (the  pianoforte)  was  no 
sign  of  weakness  or  of  narrow  genius  but  was  rather  a 
self-imposed  concentration  upon  that  which  he  wisely 
refrained  from  overstepping. 

Of  these  three  great  exponents  of  the  romantic  school 
of  instrumental  composition,  Mendelssohn  was  most 
nearly  akin  to  his  classic  predecessors.  In  his  music  are 
found  that  simplicity,  repose,  and  dignity,  that  technical 
clearness  and  exactness  distinctive  of  the  classic  school, 
enlivened  by  just  enough  freedom  and  passion  to  assign 
him  a  place  among  the  romantic  composers.  Schumann, 
on  the  other  hand,  displays  far  less  of  these  classic  attri- 
butes; he  is  the  exponent  of  the  dramatic  and  fantastic 
conception.  Chopin,  in  his  turn,  represents  the  lyric 
school,  and  possesses  no  other  quality  of  the  classic  con- 
ception than  that  of  purity  and  refinement  of  expression. 

Mendelssohn's  chief  merit  lies  in  the  perfection  of  his 
forms;  that  of  Schumann  in  his  original  harmonies  and 
rhythms;  that  of  Chopin  in  his  poetic  melodies.  Men- 
delssohn and  Chopin  have  less  breadth,  grandeur,  and 
intellectual  acumen  than  Schumann,  but  both  possess 
far  greater  control  than  he.  Schumann  struggles  like  a 
mighty  giant  for  the  mastery  in  a  contest  of  great  mo- 
ment and  extent;  Mendelssohn  and  Chopin  engage  in 
less  momentous  issues  but  are  all  the  more  complete 
masters  in  their  smaller  spheres. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI 
THE   HYPER-ROMANTIC  SCHOOL 

HECTOR    BERLIOZ,       FRANZ    LISZT 

The  principle  which  gave  birth  to  the  romantic  school 
of  composition — the  principle  of  distinct  characterisation 
and  of  exactness  and  emphasis  of  personal  expression — was 
pursued  by  other  contemporaries  of  Mendelssohn,  Schu- 
mann, and  Chopin  with  an  eagerness  which  produced 
many  striking  and  valuable  results,  but  also  impelled 
some  writers  into  extremes  and  a  great  exaggeration  of 
subjective  musical  presentation.  The  era  closely  follow- 
ing that  of  the  three  romantic  masters  was  one  of  in- 
tensified expression,  to  which  the  names  new-romantic, 
hyper-romantic,  and  (by  the  Germans  themselves)  new- 
German  were  given. 

The  beginnings  of  this  school  extend  back,  in  fact,  to 
a  Frenchman,  Hector  Berlioz,  who  antedates  the  other 
representatives  by  a  decade.  Pursuing  the  ideas  origi- 
nated b}^  Lully  in  his  own  country  and  developed  by 
Gluck  and  Weber,  Berlioz  evolved  a  style  which,  in  its 
turn,  exerted  a  significant  influence  upon  Liszt,  Wagner, 
and  others.  For  this  reason  Berlioz,  though  but  indiffer- 
ently successful  himself,  is  regarded  as  the  originator  of 
this  more  modern  phase  of  the  tone  art. 

Hector  Berlioz  was  born,  December  ii,  1803,  at  Cote 
St.  Andre.  His  father,  a  physician,  designed  to  have 
Hector  adopt  his  own  profession;  and  this  determina- 
tion was  insisted  upon  with  such  obstinacy  that  the 
youth  finally  ran  away  from  home,  entered  the  Paris 
conservatory  and  joined  a  theatre  chorus  for  his  living. 

287 


ESSENTIALS   IN   MUSIC  HISTORY 


He  appears  to  have  disliked  the  dry  study  of  musical 
theory,  for  he  soon  withdrew  from  the  classes  of  the 
conservator3%  and  continued  his  studies  alone  in  his  own 
peculiar  fashion.  A  mass,  the  overtures  to  Waverley  and 
Les  Francs-jiiges,  and  a  fantastic  S3^mphon3^,  Episode  de 
la  vie  d'un  artiste,  had   already  been  publicly  performed 

when,  m  1830,  Berlioz  won 
the  Roman  prize  with  a  can- 
tata, Sardanapale.  During  the 
succeeding  period  of  study  in 
Italy  he  created  some  of  his 
best  works  and,  like  Schu- 
mann, defended  his  original 
style  and  the  claims  of  pro- 
gramme music  in  general  by 
a  series  of  literary  essays  of 
unusual  power. 

In  1843  he  visited  Germany; 
in     1845,     Austria;     in     1847, 
Russia — everywhere    present- 
ing his  works  and  experiencing 
the  natural  mixture  of  ardent 
opposition  and  approbation.     From  1839  until  his  death, 
March  9,  1869,    Berlioz  was  librarian  of  the  Paris  con- 
servatory. 

Berlioz  is,  without  question,  one  of  the  most  interesting 
and  eminent  geniuses  in  the  history  of  French  music.  He 
adopted  the  German  classics  as  his  models  and  surpassed 
his  forerunners  in  the  seriousness  of  his  endeavours  and 
the  loftiness  of  his  aims.  His  highest  ideal  was  Beethoven, 
though  he  trod  a  radically  different  path.  By  many,  Ber- 
lioz's whole  musical  point  of  view  is  regarded  as  a  strange 
error;  he  intensified  musical  characterisation  to  a  super- 
lative degree  and  very  frequently  failed  to  preserve  the 
desirable  structural  logic  and  beauty  of  presentation. 
He  aimed  to  realise  novel  tone  effects  and  "tone-colours" 
of  the  most  vivid  nature  in  the  service  of  his  dramatic 


HECTOR   BERLIOZ 


THE   HYPER-ROMANTIC   SCHOOL        289 

and  poetic  purpose.  To  this  end  Berlioz  made  a  compre- 
hensive study  of  the  resources  of  the  orchestra,  of  which 
he  became  the  greatest  master  of  his  day,  originating 
many  very  striking  effects  and  combinations,  and  found- 
ing the  style  adopted  and  further  developed  by  Wagner 
and  his  followers. 

The  most  successful  and  popular  of  Berlioz's  composi- 
tions are  his  music-drama  Damfiation  of  Faust,  his  sym- 
phony (or  symphonic  poem)  Romeo  and  Juliet,  and  his 
four  operas.  In  striking  contrast  to  his  prolific  prede- 
cessors, Berlioz  wrote  but  a  small  number  of  works 
(extending  only  to  opus  29  b),  but  they  are  almost  all  of 
broad  proportions.  Among  them  are  six  overtures,  five 
symphonies,  four  operas,  the  dramatic  legend  Faust,  two 
oratorios,  cantatas,  a  requiem,  a  Te  Deum,  a  hymn,  and 
his  celebrated  Treatise  on  Instrumentation* 

Receding  somewhat  from  the  instrumental  standpoint 
of  the  classic  masters,  Berlioz  divided  his  attention  so 
evenly  between  the  instrumental  and  the  vocal  styles  that 
it  is  not  possible  to  define  his  standing.  In  thus  conced- 
ing to  each  style  equal  value  and  dignity,  Berlioz  made 
the  first  decided  step  in  the  direction  of  that  more  com- 
plete amalgamation  of  the  two,  subsequently  achieved 
by  Wagner  in  such  a  signal  manner  and  projected  with 
still  greater  emphasis  into  the  most  modern  era  of  the  art. 

The  same  style  of  subjective  expression  is  exemplified 
in  a  wholly  different  manner  in  the  music  of  Franz  Liszt. 
Though  in  point  of  fact  pre-eminently  a  pianoforte  vir- 
tuoso, Liszt  assumed  justly  his  rank  among  the  hyper- 
romantic  composers,  whose  contributions  to  music  litera- 
ture he  increased  by  a  large  number  of  works  whose 
originality  and  boldness  compensate  for  their  alleged  ar- 
tistic shortcomings. 

Franz  Liszt  was  born,  October  22,  181 1,  in  Hungary. 
Under  his  father's  guidance  his  musical  talent  unfolded 

*  This  work  has  recently  been  edited  and  augmented  by  Richard  Strauss,  the 
most  advanced  master  of  orchestral  resources. 


290 


ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


so  vigorously  and  with  such  rapidity  that  he  was  soon 
(in  1821)  ready  to  undertake  a  journey  to  Vienna  and 
prosecute  his  further  studies  with  Carl  Czerny  and  An- 
tonio Saheri.  In  1823  he  travelled  with  his  father  to 
Paris,  where  he  was  refused  admission  to  the  conserva- 
tory by  Cherubini,  but  where  he  won  the  protection  of 
the  composer  Paer  and  the  theorist  Reicha  and  where  he 

soon  became  the  favourite 
of  aristocratic  circles.  Liszt 
may  be  said  to  have  ac- 
quired his  musical  education 
and  schooling  in  the  public 
concert  hall.  His  most  effi- 
cient tutors  were  public 
taste  and  demand,  and  these 
his  practical  insight  enabled 
him  quickly  to  realise  and 
pursue.  His  principal  aim 
was,  no  doubt,  public  tri- 
umph. He  thirsted  for  ad- 
ulation, not  in  an  ignoble 
sense  but  none  the  less 
eagerly  and  with  conscious 
purpose.  His  genius  was  the  innate  faculty  of  delighting 
and  amazing  his  audiences,  no  matter  what  grade  of  in- 
telligence or  refinement  they  might  chance  to  represent. 
And  this  his  originality,  his  ready  adaptability,  and  his 
great  musical  and  technical  endowment  made  it  possible 
and  easy  for  him  to  do  from  the  very  outset. 

In  1824  he  undertook  his  first  journey  to  England  with 
his  father.  In  1825  he  produced  an  operetta,  Don  Sancho. 
Upon  his  father's  death,  in  1827,  which  was  a  terrible 
blow  to  the  youth,  as  it  not  only  robbed  him  of  one  to 
whom  he  was  devotedly  attached  but  left  him  alone 
without  a  natural  guardian  in  Paris  at  a  still  tender 
age,  Liszt  sent  for  his  mother  and  devoted  himself  for 
a  time  to  the  arduous  vocation  of  teaching. 


FRANZ   LISZT 


THE  HYPER-ROMANTIC  SCHOOL        291 

Of  immense  significance  were  the  impressions  he  re- 
ceived upon  the  appearance  of  Nicolo  Paganini  (in  183 1), 
whose  vioHn  performances  filled  him  with  amazement 
and  the  determination  to  equal  upon  his  own  instrument 
(the  pianoforte)  the  almost  superhuman  proficiency  of 
this  virtuoso;  and  it  is  quite  certain  that  the  unusual 
and  superior  qualities  of  Liszt's  pianoforte  style  may  be 
ascribed  to  his  emulation  and  imitation  of  Paganini. 
Further,  Liszt  was  confirmed  in  his  conceptions  of  the 
tone  art  by  Berlioz,  who  returned  to  Paris  from  Italy 
shortly  after  this  with  some  of  his  best  and  most  dis- 
tinctive works.  And,  finally,  Liszt's  intimate  intercourse 
with  Chopin  had  also  great  influence  in  moulding  and 
fixing  his  artistic  style. 

Liszt  was  an  indefatigable  student  not  only  of  his  own 
art  but  of  all  the  arts.  He  became  a  literary  writer  of 
marked  ability,  mastered  several  languages,  and  expanded 
his  mind  in  many  directions.  From  1835  to  1839  he  lived 
in  Geneva  and  from  1839  to  1849  he  continued  his  ca- 
reer as  virtuoso,  his  course  through  all  the  principal  cities 
of  Europe  being  marked  with  triumph  and  enthusiasm. 
In  1847  he  accepted  the  office  of  court  orchestral  director 
at  Weimar  and  remained  there  for  twelve  years,  reviv- 
ing the  same  spirit  of  enthusiasm  in  the  realm  of  music 
which  earlier  animated  this  famous  little  Thuringian  town 
in  the  sphere  of  poetry  under  the  inspiring  presence  of 
Goethe  and  Schiller. 

Weimar  became,  through  Liszt,  the  rendezvous  of  many 
brilliant  musicians  of  the  period:  Von  Biilow,  Wagner, 
Rafi^,  Tausig,  Rubinstein,  Peter  Cornelius,  Ferdinand 
David,  Joachim — not  to  mention  the  numerous  celebri- 
ties from  the  ranks  of  the  sister  arts.  Here  it  was  that 
Liszt  turned  his  attention  to  the  more  serious  forms 
of  composition  and  wrote  his  symphonic  tone-poems,  in 
which  the  musical  individuality  of  their  author  is  most 
clearly  displayed.  From  1861  until  1870  Liszt  made  his 
home  in  Rome,  becoming  Abbe  in  1865.     Subsequently 


292        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

he  spent  the  summer  months  of  each  year  in  Weimar, 
dispensing  his  knowledge  and  the  fruits  of  his  talent  and 
experience  to  a  number  of  youthful  pianists  and  com- 
posers who  were  eager  to  profit  by  contact  with  him. 
This  purely  benevolent  practice  Liszt  maintained  until 
his  death,  August  i,  1886. 

Liszt  was  undoubtedly  the  greatest  pianoforte  virtuoso 
who  has  ever  been  known  to  the  music  world;  what  he 
accomplished  through  that  instrument  appeared  unsur- 
passable. To  be  sure,  he  lived  in  an  age  when  it  was 
possible  to  create  and  sustain  a  potent  individuality 
based  largely  upon  technical  bravura,  and  Liszt  was  the 
founder  of  modern  virtuoso  technic — an  element  which 
is  becoming  so  common  and  so  much  easier  to  acquire, 
since  Liszt  and  his  followers  pointed  out  the  way,  that  it 
is  not  ranked  as  highly  nowadays  among  the  many  in- 
dispensable requirements  of  the  tone  artist  as  it  was  a 
half  century  ago.  But,  aside  from  this  historic  issue,  it 
is  certain  that  Liszt's  technic  verged  upon  the  marvel- 
lous. His  sensibilities  were  keen  and  responsive;  his  abil- 
ity to  transmit  every  shade  of  emotional  impulse  through 
the  medium  of  the  pianoforte  was  unbounded;  so,  too, 
was  his  power  of  modifying  the  expression  by  his  subtle 
sense  of  touch.  His  command  of  the  mechanical  inter- 
action of  hand  and  keyboard  was  fabulous,  and  to  all 
was  added  the  magnetism  of  his  thoroughly  noble-hearted, 
generous  personaht}^. 

These  traits  represent  the  chief  attributes  of  Liszt's 
greatness.  As  composer  he  was  original  and  exerted  a 
certain  influence  upon  the  music  of  his  century,  especially 
upon  that  for  the  pianoforte.  He  therefore  commands  re- 
spect and  has  many  warm  admirers;  but  history  regards 
his  creative  activity  as  of  secondary  importance.  He  was 
more  richly  gifted  with  the  faculty  of  ornamentation  than 
with  that  of  creation;  hence,  his  best  and  probably  most 
enduring  works  are  his  transcriptions  of  other  masters' 
vocal  or  orchestral  compositions,  the  original  beauties  of 


THE   HYPER-ROMANTIC  SCHOOL        293 

which  are  often  greatly  enhanced  by  the  wonderful  charm 
and  deUcacy  and  vital  apprehension  of  Liszt's  genius. 
Examples  of  this  phase  of  his  artistic  labour  are  the 
Hungarian  rhapsodies,  some  of  Schubert's  songs,  the 
Soirees  de  Vienne  (dances  of  Schubert).  In  his  original 
compositions  Liszt  betrayed  a  lack  of  true  creative  power, 
a  leaning  toward  bombast  and  eccentricity,  mitigated  by 
the  same  marvellous  skill  of  ornamentation  and  effective 
presentation  so  exquisite  in  his  transcriptions. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII 
RICHARD   WAGNER 

The  distinctive  dramatic  composer  of  the  nineteenth 
century  was  Richard  Wagner,  one  of  the  most  powerful 
and  energetic  intellects  of  modern  history,  almost  equally 
eminent  as  poet  and  as  musician.  He  was  born,  May 
22,  1813,  at  Leipsic.  His  father  died  when  he  was  an  in- 
fant, whereupon  the  family  moved  to  Dresden,  In  his 
earlier  days  Wagner's  musical  inclinations  seem  to  have 
been  of  a  superficial  nature  while  his  taste  ran  with  pref- 
erence to  poetry.  For  some  time  he  cherished  the  plan 
of  writing  a  tragedy  in  the  style  and  proportions  of  the 
dramas  of  Shakespeare.  Upon  his  return  to  Leipsic  his 
interest  in  music  was  aroused  and  his  love  for  it  grew 
daily  stronger;  hand  in  hand  with  his  university  courses, 
he  engaged  diligently  in  the  study  of  counterpoint  under 
the  tuition  of  Weinlig. 

Wagner's  first  works — a  pianoforte  sonata,  opus  i, 
Polonaise,  opus  2,  a  Fantasie,  a  string  quartet,  and  four 
overtures — are  in  no  sense  extraordinary,  but  reveal  some 
of  his  subsequent  characteristic  traits.  In  1833  he  wrote 
his  first  opera.  Die  Feen,  for  the  presentation  of  which  he 
laboured  in  vain.  In  1834  he  became  music  director  in 
Magdeburg,  where  he  composed  a  second  opera.  Das 
Liebesverbot,  performed  in  1836  with  indifferent  success. 
In  1837  he  went  to  Riga  as  orchestral  director  and  in 
1839  he  undertook  a  trip  to  London  and  to  Paris,  where 
he  soon  fell  a  prey  to  most  unfortunate  and  straitened 
conditions.  In  order  to  earn  a  scanty  living  he  was  com- 
pelled  to   prepare   popular  opera    arrangements   for   the 

294 


RICHARD  WAGNER 


295 


publishers.  It  was  during  this  period  of  distress  that  he 
wrote  his  Faust  Overture,  finished  his  third  opera,  Rienzi 
(begun  in  Riga),  and  composed  the  Hbretto  and  music 
of  the  Flying  Dutchman.  In  1842  he  returned  to  Ger- 
many to  attend  the  first  performance  of  Rienzi.  In  1843 
the  Flying  Dutchman  was  given  in  Dresden. 

The  attention  and  interest  which  these  operas  aroused 
were  so  great  that  the  whole  musical  community  imme- 
diately embraced  antagonis- 
tic views  of  the  merits  of 
Wagner's  original  methods 
and  began  that  famous  feud 
between  Wagnerites  and 
anti-Wagnerites  which  was 
at  times  extremely  bitter, 
extended  all  over  musical 
Europe,  and  lasted  nearly  a 
half  century.  Despite  these 
contentions  and  the  opposi- 
tion brought  to  bear  upon 
him,  Wagner  laboured  on 
with  an  energy  and  persis- 
tency that  were  a  part  of  his 
genius.  In  1845  his  Tann- 
hduser    appeared;    in     1847 

Lohengrin  was  written,  and  was  brought  out  at  Weimar, 
in  1850,  through  the  influence  of  his  warm  friend  and 
advocate  Liszt. 

In  the  years  1849  to  1853,  when  Wagner's  attitude  to- 
ward the  political  upheaval  in  Germany  rendered  it  ex- 
pedient for  him  to  take  flight  (to  Paris,  and  Switzerland), 
he  developed  that  great  literary  power  for  which  he  be- 
came almost  as  famous  as  for  his  musical  genius  and 
which  became  a  potent  agent  in  securing  for  his  artistic 
principles  and  for  his  music-dramas  their  just  recognition. 
In  1 86 1  his  Tannhduser  was  presented  in  Paris  and  met 
with  sensational  opposition.     In  the  meantime  an   am- 


RI  CHARD  WAGNER 


296        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

nesty  had  been  issued  and  Wagner  was  permitted  to  re- 
turn to  his  native  country.  In  1859  he  had  already  fin- 
ished Tristan  und  Isolde^  but  it  was  not  produced  until 
1865,  in  Munich. 

In  1864  Wagner  at  last  began  to  emerge  from  the 
array  of  disappointments  which  had  harassed  him  during 
the  earlier  periods  of  his  career,  and  found  himself  placed 
in  a  position  where  the  fulfilment  of  his  larger  plans 
seemed  likely  to  be  realised.  The  unfortunate  King  Lud- 
wig  of  Bavaria,  a  warm  admirer  of  Wagner's  music,  in- 
vited him  to  Munich,  gave  him  a  villa,  and  became  his 
enthusiastic  protector.  In  1868  the  Meistersinger  was 
produced;  the  following  year  he  married  Cosima,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Liszt  and  divorced  wife  of  Hans  von  Biilow. 

All  obstacles  being  removed,  he  now  set  about  com- 
pleting the  most  pretentious  and  characteristic  of  his 
dramatic  tasks,  the  Ring  of  the  Nibelung,  comprising 
four  operas,  the  first  one  of  which  (the  prelude,  Rhein- 
gold)  was  produced  with  such  signal  success  that  Wagner 
ventured  to  prosecute  his  unique  design  of  having  a  Wag- 
ner theatre  (Festspielhaus)  erected  in  Baireuth  for  the  ex- 
clusive performance  of  his  operas.  In  this  he  was  suc- 
cessful, and  the  first  public  presentation  of  the  Ring 
{Rheingold,  Walkure,  Siegfried,  and  Gdtterddmmerung) 
took  place  in  his  own  theatre  in  Baireuth  between  Au- 
gust 13  and  30,  1876,  marking  one  of  the  most  novel  and 
notable  events  not  only  in  the  history  of  music  but  of 
modern  civilisation. 

Wagner's  last  work  was  Parsifal,  a  sacred  musical 
drama,  the  leading  thought  of  which  is  the  relation  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  to  humanity,  presented  with  the  utmost 
reverence  and  artistic  seriousness.  The  Holy  Grail  is  its 
symbol,  Parsifal  is  an  embodiment  of  the  Christ,  Kundry 
of  Mary  Magdalene.  This  opera  was  first  given  on 
July  26,  1882,  at  Baireuth.  The  following  winter  Wag- 
ner died  in  Venice,  February  13,  1883. 

Great  though  the  purely  musical  beauty  and  value  of 


RICHARD  WAGNER  297 

the  classic  operas  of  Gluck,  Mozart,  Weber,  and  Beethoven 
were,  their  dramatic  contents  and  designs  were  marred 
by  the  fashions  and  weaknesses  of  their  era.  Gluck  had 
accomplished  wonders  in  purifying  and  vitalising  the 
dramatic  basis  and  Weber  and  Berlioz  had  proceeded  still 
further  in  the  same  artistic  purpose;  but  their  apparent 
fulfilment  was  reserved  for  Wagner. 

The  fundamental  idea  of  Wagner's  whole  artistic  aim 
is  expressed  by  himself  in  the  motto  to  his  book,  Opera 
and  Drama,  in  which  he  says:  "The  [traditional]  opera 
is  an  error;  for  in  this  form  of  art  a  means  of  expression 
(music)  appears  as  the  object,  while  the  object  of  expres- 
sion (the  drama)  appears  only  as  a  means."  His  weapons 
were,  therefore,  directed  mainly  against  the  shallow  oper- 
atic products  of  Italy,  always  distinguished  for  their  al- 
most total  lack  of  dramatic  point  and  object  and  existing, 
as  a  rule,  chiefly  as  an  opportunity  for  vocal  techni- 
cal display.  But  Wagner  also  opposed  the  spirit  of  those 
French  operas  m  which  bombast  and  the  affectation  of 
pathos  had  usurped  the  place  of  dramatic  truth.  There 
also,  as  in  Italy,  the  libretto  was  of  little  consequence; 
scarcely  more  than  a  framework  upon  which  to  trail  and 
exhibit  the  music  and  the  voice.  Wagner  believed  and 
demanded  that  the  dramatic  idea  should  be  of  the  very 
first  moment  and  that  the  musical  factors,  while  preserv- 
ing their  own  dignity  and  artistic  beauty,  should  serve 
principall}^  to  clothe  and  reinforce  this  idea — in  a  word, 
that  a  closer  co-ordination  should  be  established  between 
the  sister  arts  of  poetry  and  music,  or,  in  the  case  of 
any  inequality,  that  preference  should  be  given  to  the 
dramatic  purpose;  furthermore,  not  only  poetry  and  mu- 
sic, but  the  other  arts  as  well,  should  be  enlisted  in  the 
service  of  this  idea  and  its  full  and  emphatic  realisation. 

This  was  Wagner's  ideal  of  the  opera  and  this  defines 
the  function  which  his  music  performs  in  it.  But  he 
also  knew  that  music  as  an  abstract  art,  in  and  by  itself 
as  in  the  pure  instrumental  style  of  composition,  neither 


298        ESSENTIALS   IN   MUSIC   HISTORY 

can  nor  should  be  so  applied,  and  he  never  declared  or 
assumed  that  the  opera  was  the  only  true  form  of  mu- 
sical art.  This  is  demonstrated  in  his  overtures  and  in 
the  frequent  instrumental  episodes  of  his  larger  operas, 
which  well  deserve  to  be  classed  as  absolute  music,  though 
they  pertain  to  the  sphere  of  tone  poetry  in  their  direct 
contiguity  to  the  dramatic  situations  and  their  conse- 
quent illustrative  qualities. 

Whatever  may  have  been  said  in  discredit  of  his  mu- 
sical talent,  it  is  certain  that  Wagner  was  a  master  of 
dramatic  musical  expression  and  that  he  was  the  origi- 
nator of  a  style  of  operatic  art  vastly  richer  and  more 
impressive  than  any  other  ever  conceived.  His  music, 
from  the  severest  critical  point  of  view,  contains  mo- 
ments of  transcendent  beauty  and  power,  and  through 
the  combination  of  the  musical  and  dramatic  pulses  he 
achieves  climaxes  that  are  unparalleled  in  operatic  art. 

A  novel  peculiarity  of  Wagner's  style  is  the  so-called 
"leading  motive,"  which  he  employs  not  only  to  obtain 


unity  and  continuity  but  to  suggest  and  characterise  the 
various  individualities  and  other  dramatic  features  of  the 
text.  His  creative  faculty  in  this  respect  was  powerful 
both  in  originality  and  in  precision  and  is  equalled  only 
by  his  facility  of  technical  and  contrapuntal  treatment, 
the  richness  and  variety  of  his  harmonic  and  modulatory 
movements.  All  these  traits  are  thrown  into  the  strong- 
est light  by  his  manipulation  of  the  resources  of  the  or- 
chestra. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII 
JOHANNES   BRAHMS 

The  strong  current  of  romanticism,  active  from  the 
early  years  of  the  nineteenth  century,  which  so  influ- 
enced the  stA'le  and  character  of  modern  music  that  it 
has  become  the  ruHng  pulse  of  musical  thought,  has  not, 
however,  drawn  ever3^thing  into  its  centre.  Probably  no 
composer  can  henceforth  ever  free  himself  from  this  in- 
fluence so  completely  as  to  overcome  the  seductions  of 
free  mdividual  expression  or  refrain  from  more  or  less 
extensive  use  of  the  methods  of  the  romantic  and  hyper- 
romantic  schools. 

But,  at  the  same  time,  there  are  and  always  will  be 
some  serious  minds  eminently  fitted  by  genius,  by  tem- 
perament, and  b}^  conviction,  to  endeavour  to  subdue  the 
menacing  force  of  this  current  and  to  constrain  it  within 
sensible  bounds. 

The  greatest  of  these  protectors  of  classic  ideals  in  the 
modern  era  of  music  is  Johannes  Brahms,  one  of  the 
few  monumental  figures  in  the  whole  wide  range  of  music 
history.  Brahms  was  born.  May  7,  1833,  at  Hamburg 
(North  German}' — that  section  of  Europe  which  gave 
birth  to  Bach,  Handel,  Beethoven,  Mendelssohn,  Schu- 
mann, Wagner).  His  musical  studies  were  first  guided 
by  his  father  and  later  by  Edward  Marxsen.  Schumann, 
in  the  last  article  he  ever  wrote  for  publication  (October, 
1853),  called  the  attention  of  the  musical  world  to  Brahms 
in  a  striking  prophecy  regarding  his  future,  which  Brahms 
more  than  fulfilled.  From  that  time  on,  his  career  was 
one  of  slow  but  sure  realisation  of  the  highest  achieve- 
ment   which    the    promises    of   youth    can    foreshadow. 

299 


300        ESSENTIALS   IN   MUSIC   HISTORY 


Brahms  was  for  a  few  years  director  of  music  in  Detmold, 
after  which  he  returned  to  his  native  city,  studying  and 
composing  with  great  diligence,  cherishing  an  inspiring 
friendship  with  Robert  and  Clara  Schumann,  Joachim, 
and  other  equally  serious-minded  artists. 

In  1862  he  went  to  Vienna,  where  he  founded  his  sec- 
ond home,  always  returning  thither  after  brief  periods 
of  absence  in  Hamburg,  Zurich,  Baden-Baden,  and  other 

cities.  From  1871  to  1874  he  con- 
ducted the  Gesellschafts-Konzerte 
in  Vienna;  then  he  went  to  Heidel- 
berg, gravitating  to  Vienna  again 
in  1876.  The  degree  of  doctor 
honoris  causa  was  bestowed  upon 
him  by  the  University  of  Cam- 
bridge (England)  in  1877  and  by 
that  of  Breslau  in  1881.  He  died, 
April  3,  1897,  at  Vienna. 

The  qualities  which  secure 
Brahms  a  place  among  the  great- 
est masters  of  the  tone  art  are  the 
depth,  fervour,  and  truth  of  a  con- 
ception to  which  he  gave  expression 
in  logical  and  appropriate  forms.  His  creations,  excepting 
only  a  few  of  the  very  earliest  (in  which  are  evinced  some 
of  the  obscurity  and  unbridled  imagination  of  youthful 
genius)  reveal  their  beauties  more  and  more  upon  closer 
acquaintance.  His  harmony  is  rich  in  new  and  unac- 
customed changes,  his  melody  thoroughly  classic  but  sin- 
gularly original,  and  his  counterpoint  complex;  for  these 
reasons  the  ready  apprehension  of  his  thematic  design 
is  difficult,  but  it  all  becomes  more  and  more  fascinat- 
ing as  its  beauty  and  perfection  of  structure  become  more 
apparent.  The  eminence  of  Brahms's  genius,  the  singular 
loftiness  of  his  conception  (in  an  age  of  romantic  freedom 
and  uncertain  quest  after  novel  effects),  is  so  far  from  the 
beaten  track,  so  far  above  the  common  range  of  vision, 


JOHANNES   BRAHMS 


JOHANNES   BRAHMS  301 

that  comprehension  and  enjo3'^ment  of  his  works  can  be 
gained  only  through  close  attention,  and  familiarity  with 
his  unusual  idiom. 

Brahms  is  classic  in  his  attitude  but  modern  in  his 
expression.  He  is  master  of  the  emotional  impression,  as 
a  whole,  to  a  remarkable  degree.  With  a  few  simple 
strokes  he  fixes  the  emotional  outlines  and  then  firmly 
maintains  them  to  the  end  without  wavering  or  con- 
fusion. And  he  is  similarly  master  of  each  single  emo- 
tional phase,  most  especially  of  the  sombre  shades,  in  which 
his  serious,  essentially  classic  spirit  delights.  But  he  can 
also  be  cheerful  and  gay;  he  utilises  the  quick-footed 
rhythms  and  lucent  melodies  with  equal  grace  and  effec- 
tiveness. 

The  same  conscientiousness  and  concentration  which 
distinguished  Beethoven  may  also  be  ascribed  to  Brahms. 
In  his  treatment  of  both  form  and  material  he  takes  rank 
with  Bach  and  Beethoven,  with  whom  he  is  closest  of 
kin  in  the  rigid  thoroughness  of  his  artistic  nature.  The 
false  charge  that  Brahms's  music  emanates  from  the 
head  instead  of  the  heart  can  be  advanced  only  by  those 
critics  who  cannot  fathom  the  depths  of  that  heart  and 
wholly  misapprehend  the  great  import  of  a  style  which 
must  needs  employ  unusual  means  for  its  presentation. 
His  technic  is  masterful,  but  it  is  never  employed  in  any 
other  sense  than  as  a  means  to  an  end. 

Brahms  is  not  revolutionary  but  reactionary.  His  in- 
fluence upon  the  healthy  growth  of  the  tone  art  can 
scarcely  be  estimated.  His  imposing  manner,  his  sturdy 
artistic  principles  are  matched  against  all  the  licence  and 
unbridled  passion  of  the  new  romantic  school.  He  points 
sternly  back  to  the  ideals  and  methods  which  marked  the 
age  of  classic  creation  and  which  appear  to  be  alone  able 
to  impress  the  sanction  of  truth  upon  a  work  of  art. 
But,  while  he  models  his  works  after  these  classic  types, 
he  vitalises  them  with  the  most  enduring  and  effective 
acquisitions  of  modern  art. 


302        ESSENTIALS   IN   MUSIC  HISTORY 

Brahms's  compositions,  to  opus  122,  comprise  four 
symphonies,  two  overtures,  three  string  quartets,  three 
pianoforte  sonatas,  three  pianoforte  quartets,  two  piano- 
forte concertos,  five  trios,  six  duos,  a  number  of  other 
chamber  works  and  piano  pieces,  a  very  large  number 
of  songs,  and  a  few  motets  and  cantatas.  The  greatest 
of  his  vocal  creations  is  his  German  Requiem,  a  master- 
piece that  ranks  with  Bach's  Passio7is  and  Beethoven's 
A4ass  in  D  Major. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX 

REFERENCE  LISTS  OF  MUSICAL  CELEBRITIES  OF 
THE  NINETEENTH   CENTURY 

The  following  classification  is  given  as  a  ready  refer- 
ence list  of  composers  and  reproductive  artists  of  to-day 
and  recent  times,  and  includes  biographical  notices  of 
those  who  have  achieved  marked  distinction  but  whose 
relation  to  the  essential  history  of  music  is  yet  to  be 
determined.  The  reader  is  referred  to  Chapter  XLI  for 
the  names  of  American  composers,  artists,  and  writers. 

A.  The  era  of  Germa7i  Song,  inaugurated  by  Schubert 
and  further  represented  by  Mendelssohn  and  Schumann, 
embraces  the  following  names: 

Carl  Loewe  (born  1796),  famous  for  his  ballads.  Wil- 
helm  Taubert  (1811).  Robert  Franz  (1815).  Franz  Abt 
(1819).  Brahms  (1833).  Adolf  Jensen  (1837).  Grieg 
(1843).  Wilhelm  Kienzl  (1857).  Hugo  Wolf  (i860). 
Richard  Strauss  (1864). 

B.  As  concerns  the  technic  of  song,  it  is  apparent 
that  the  old  and  hitherto  universally  respected  Italian 
vocal  methods  are  gradually  yielding  to  newer  ones,  ne- 
cessitated by  the  advances  and  changes  in  German  opera 
and  song  during  the  last  half  century.  Still,  the  Italian 
method  has  not  lost  its  hold  upon  the  student  world, 
and  probably  never  will  do  so,  for  its  superiority  as 
vocal  method  seems  to  be  unquestionable.  Among  the 
celebrated  Italian  vocal  teachers  and  singers  were: 

Ronconi.  Concone.  Bordogni.  Panofka.  Lamperti. 
Manuel  Garcia  (father  of  Malibran  and  Viardot).  Mar- 
chesi  (both  husband  and  wife).     Duprez. 

303 


304        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

In  Germany:  Franz  Hauser.  Julius  Stockhausen. 
Julius  Hey.  Ferdinand  Sieber.  Franz  Betz.  Emil 
Goetze.  Franz  Nachbaur.  Emil  Scaria.  Anton  Schott. 
Josef  Staudigl. 

The  distinguished  women  vocalists:  Catalani.  Sonn- 
tag.  Jenny  Lind.  Albani.  Malibran.  Desiree-Artot, 
Viardot.  Pasta.  Tietjens.  Patti.  Lucca.  Sembrich. 
Peschka-Leutner.  Schroeder-Devrient.  Destinn.  Gad- 
sky.  Gerster.  Mallinger.  Materna.  Melba.  Schumann- 
Heink.     Nordica. 

Famous  male  vocalists:  Braham.  Rubini.  Duprez. 
Roger.     Reeves.     Tamberlick.     Stockhausen.     Lablache. 

C.  In  the  domain  of  pianoforte  composition  there  ap- 
peared, early  in  the  century,  a  class  of  players  (and  writ- 
ers) who  cultivated  the  so-called  "elegant"  style  and 
produced  enormous  quantities  of  light,  effective  music 
designed  chiefly  for  the  display  of  technical  dexterity. 
Many  of  them  were,  however,  efficient  pedagogues  who 
advanced  the  technic  of  the  instrument  and  paved  the 
way  for  the  achievements  of  Chopin  and  Liszt.  They 
constituted  what  may  be  termed  the  school  of  juvenile 
virtuosity,  as  it  was  the  infancy  and  childhood  of  the 
eminent  virtuoso  style  of  Liszt  and  of  modern  days. 
The  earl}^  era  embraces  the  names: 

George  Onslow  (1784).  Ferdinand  Ries  (1784).  Alex- 
ander Fesca  (1789).  Carl  Czerny  (1791).  Ignace  Mos- 
cheles  (1794).  Karl  Gottlieb  Reissiger  (1798).  Ferdinand 
Hiller  (181 1).  Sigismund  Thalberg  (1812).  Theodore 
Kullak  (1818). 

D.  The  composers  of  the  past  century,  while  taking 
their  start  from  the  pianoforte  as  an  almost  universal 
rule,  turned  their  attention  also,  in  many  instances, 
and  often  with  marked  success,  to  the  broader  fields  of 
composition.  Thus,  under  the  invigorating  influence  of 
greater  masters  (Mendelssohn,  Schumann,  Chopin)  the 
literature  of  the  pianoforte  gradually  rose  to  a  better  and 
nobler  level  and  many  notable  contributions  were  added 


MUSICAL  CELEBRITIES 


305 


to  the  higher  grades  of  musical  creation.     The  long  list 
of  composers  in  general  embraces: 

Karl  Gottlieb  Reissiger  (1798).  Edward  Grell  (born, 
1800,  Berlin),  renowned  teacher  and  conductor  and  au- 
thor of  much  excellent  sacred  music  in  the  severe  con- 
trapuntal style.  Franz  Lachner  (1803),  the  elder  of  three 
brothers,  all  famous  writers.  Julius  Benedict  (1804)  and 
Michael  Costa  (1810) — both  English  composers  of  merit. 
Carl  Gradener  (1812).  Adolf  Henselt  (1814).  Stephen 
Heller  (1815),  fruitful  composer  of 
an  excellent  grade  of  the  "elegant'* 
style,  noted  for  his  fertile  imagina- 
tion and  originality.  Robert  Volk- 
mann  (1815),  distinguished  com- 
poser of  symphonies  and  superior 
chamber-music.  Johannes  Verhulst 
(1816),  a  Dutch  writer  of  distinc- 
tion. W.  Sterndale  Bennett  (1816, 
England).  Niels  W.  Gade  (1817), 
one  of  the  most  eminent  of  Scandi- 
navian writers  of  the  earlier  school, 
author  of  many  symphonies,  over- 
tures, cantatas,  and  much  interesting  chamber-music. 
Halfdan  Kjerulf  (1818,  Norway).  Henry  LitolfF  (1818). 
Antonio  Bazzini  (1818),  one  of  the  best  modern  Italian 
composers.  Cornelius  Gurlitt  (1820).  Frederick  Kiel 
(1821,  North  Germany),  a  writer  of  unusual  talent  and 
learning,  the  author  of  distinguished  oratorios  and  other 
large  works. 

Of  more  than  passing  distinction  was  Joachim  RafF; 
he  was  born,  1822,  in  Switzerland,  pursued  an  academic 
career  until  his  love  of  music  overcame  his  parents'  objec- 
tions and  induced  him  to  adopt  composition  as  his  pro- 
fession. His  life  for  some  time  was  one  of  disappointment 
and  hardship.  The  marked  triviality  of  many  of  his 
earlier  pianoforte  pieces,  side  by  side  with  works  of  superior 
merit,  prove   how  often   he  wrote   more   from   necessity 


JOACHIM  RAFF 


3o6 


ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


CARL  REINECKE 


than  from  artistic  impulse.  But  the  friendship  of  Liszt 
and  the  support  of  the  influential  circle  of  Weimar  enthu- 
siasts finally  gave  him  the 
means  to  extricate  himself 
from  misfortune  and  thus  to 
win  recognition  and  success. 
Raff^'s  most  famous  work  is 
his  third  symphony,  In  the 
Forest.  In  1877  he  was  ap- 
pointed director  of  the  Hoch 
conservatory  in  Frankfort, 
where  he  remained  until  his 
death  in  1882.  Had  Raff  been 
able  to  maintain,  throughout, 
the  eminence  of  some  of  his 
larger  works  he  would  doubt- 
less have  become  one  of  the 
foremost  composers  of  his  cen- 
As  it  is  he  ranks  high  and  has  a  host  of  admirers. 
Carl  Reinthaler  (1822).  Carl  Reinecke  (1824),  the 
highly  esteemed  com- 
poser and  teacher  in 
Leipsic.  Theodore  Kirch- 
ner(i824).  Peter  Corne- 
lius (1824),  an  adherent 
of  the  new  German 
school,  zealously  sup- 
ported in  his  artistic 
ambitions  by  Liszt  and 
famous  for  operas  of 
striking  originality  and 
artistic  value.  Friedrich 
Smetana  (1824),  a  power- 
ful Bohemian  composer. 
Anton  Bruckner  (1824), 

who  in  recent  years  has  been  assigned,  by  many  critics, 
a  rank  among  the  most  eminent  masters.     Later  appeared 


tury. 


PETER   CORNELIUS 


MUSICAL  CELEBRITIES 


307 


Ivar  Hallstrom  (1826).  Waldemar  Bargiel  (1828).  Hans 
von  Bronsart  (1830).  Hans  von  Biilow  (1830),  chiefly 
noted  as  pianoforte  virtuoso;  and  Anton  Rubinstein, 
one  of  the  most  richly  gifted  musicians  of  the  past 
century  and  a  pianist  of  very  uncommon  power  and 
magnetism. 

Rubinstein  was  born,  1830,  near  the  Russian  frontier  of 
Bessarabia;  he  spent  his  childhood  in  Moscow  and  ap- 
peared in  public  at  the  age  of  ten;  in  1848  he  settled  in 
St.  Petersburg,  where  he 
composed  a  number  of 
operas;  in  1854  he  made 
a  concert  tour  through 
Germany;  founded  the 
St.  Petersburg  Conser- 
vatory in  1862;  made  his 
first  journey  to  America 
in  1872.  He  died  No- 
vember 20,  1894.  Rubin- 
stein has  written  works 
in  almost  every  style  of 
composition  and  was 
quick  and  prolific  in 
conception.     His  native 

talent  was  of  an  exceedingly  high  order,  powerful,  rich, 
and  original.  His  melodic  themes  are  always  striking,  un- 
usually replete  with  strong  passion  or  delicate  beaut}^,  and 
often  both,  but  he  lacked  the  gift  of  concentration  and 
continuity,  wherefore  he  often  fails  to  do  justice  to  his 
splendid  themes  and  leaves  the  hearer  very  frequently, 
indeed,  in  a  state  of  disappointment. 

Salamon  Jadassohn  (1831).  Carl  Goldmark  (1832). 
Karl  Ernst  Naumann  (1832).  Franz  Wiillner  (1832). 
Alexander  Borodin  (1834,  Russia).  Albert  Becker  (1834), 
one  of  the  most  skilful  contrapuntists  of  his  time.  Cesar 
Cui  (Russia,  1835).  Bernhard  Scholtz  (1835).  Felix 
Draseke  (1835).     Camille  Saint-Saens  (1835),  one  of  the 


ANTON    RUBINSTEIN 


3o8        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


CAMILLE   SAINT-SAENS 


best  pianists,  organists,  and  composers  which  France  has 
ever  produced,  whose  music  is  original  and  full  of 
beauty  but  possibly  noted  more  for  cleverness  of  tech- 
nical detail  than  for  loftiness  of 
conception  and  ideals.  Further: 
Nicolas  Rubinstein  (1835), younger 
brother  of  Anton  and  a  most  dis- 
tinguished teacher,  Mily  Bala- 
kirew  (1836,  Russia).  Leo  Delibes 
(1836,  France).  Max  Bruch 
(1838),  a  sturdy  German  master 
who  ranks  high  among  those  emi- 
nent composers  who  have  made 
their  country  so  prominent  in 
music  history.  Bruch  is  famous 
for  his  two  excellent  violin  con- 
certos and  his  numerous  secular 
oratorios. 

Friedrich  Gernsheim,  Josef 
Rheinberger,  and  Eduard  Napravnik  (Bohemia),  all  born 
in  1839.  Hermann  Goetz  (1840).  Ernst  Rudorff  (1840). 
Johann  Svendsen  (1840,  Norway). 
Pieter  Ilyitch  Tschaikowsky,  probably 
the  most  powerful  exponent  of  the 
modern  Russian  school  and  in  many 
respects  the  greatest  composer  that 
country  has  brought  forth.  He  was 
born  in  1840,  died  November  7,  1893. 
Tschaikowsky  was  a  master  of  struc- 
tural technic,  serious  in  his  artistic 
ideals,  and  of  a  warm,  sympathetic 
nature  which  finds  free  emotional  ex- 
pression in  his  music.  His  most  popular 
work  is  his  last  {Pathetic)  symphony. 

Of  equal  eminence  was  Anton  Dvorak,  who  ranks  in 
the  history  of  Bohemian  music  as  Tschaikowsky  does  in 


PIETER  ILYITCH 
TSCHAIKOWSKY 


CAESAR   CUI  NIKOLAS  RIMSKY-KORSAKOW 

A  GROUP  OF  RUSSIAN  COMPOSERS 


3IO 


ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


ANTON   DVORAK 


that  of  Russia,  or  Grieg  in  that  of  Norway.  Dvorak  v^as 
born  in  1841.  In  his  youth  he  earned  his  living,  and  ob- 
tained his  musical  education,  as 
violinist  in  a  small  orchestra  until 
he  gained  a  prize,  and  also  the 
recognition  and  admiration  of  his 
critics,  with  a  hymn  for  chorus 
and  orchestra.  He  was  warml}^ 
befriended  by  Brahms  and  his 
reputation  grew  rapidly.  Dvorak 
was  endowed  with  a  singularly 
active  imagination;  his  ideas 
flowed  freely  and  rapidly — like 
those  of  Schubert,  whom  Dvorak 
resembles  in  many  ways- — and 
they  are  original,  quaint  but  thoroughly  wholesome.  His 
best  works  are  his  Requiem,  Stabat  Mater,  chamber-music, 
and  symphonies — particularly  his  last  one,  From  the  New 
World,  written  in  America  in  1894,  while  he  was  musical 
director  of  the  National 
Conservatory  in  New 
York  City.  He  returned 
to  Europe  in  1895  and 
died  there  May  i,  1904. 
Heinrich  Hoffman 
(1842).  Giovanni  Sgam- 
bati  (1843),  an  admi- 
rable Italian  composer. 
Heinrich  von  Herzogen- 
berg  (1843).  Edward 
Grieg,  born,  1843,  in 
Norway,  the  most  origi- 
nal and  popular  Scan- 
dinavian master  since 
the  day  of  Niels  Gade. 

Grieg's  works  bear  a  pronounced  national  character  and 
are,   therefore,   of  a  somewhat   narrow   type;    his    music 


EDWARD  GRIEG 


MUSICAL  CELEBRITIES 


311 


glows  with  weird  harmonic  and  modulatory  effects  that 
are  irresistible,  and  he  displays  unique  skill  in  the  ma- 
nipulation of  small  motives. 

Nikolas  Rimsky-Korsakow  (1844,  Russia).  Franz  Ries 
(1846).  Alexander  Mackenzie  (1847,  England).  Ma- 
dame Agathe  Bacher-Grondahl  (1847,  Norway).  Benja- 
min Godard  (1849,  France).  Xaver  Scharwenka  (1850). 
Hans  Huber  (1852,  Switzerland).  Frederic  H.  Cowen 
(1852,  England).  Charles  V. 
Stanford  (1852,  England). 
Jean  L.  Nicode  (1853,  Ger- 
many). Engelbert  Humper- 
dinck  (1854).  Edgar  Tinel 
(1854,  Belgium).  Moritz 
Moszkowski  (1854).  Edward 
SchUtt  (1856).  Edward  W. 
Elgar  (1857,  England).  Ignace 
Paderewski  (1859).  Gustav 
Mahler(i86o).  LudwigThuille 
(1861).  Eugend'Albert(i864), 
a  composer  of  great  distinc- 
tion and  serious  purpose.  Jean 
Sibelius  (1865, Finland).  Gran- 
ville Bantock  (1868,  London). 
Max  Reger  (1873).  Josef  Suk  (1874,  Bohemia).  S.Cole- 
ridge Taylor  (1875). 

E.  The  list  of  celebrated  violm  players  and  writers  is 
headed  by  the  venerable  Giovanni  Battista  Viotti  (born 
1753),  the  father  of  the  modern  school.  Then  follow,  in 
chronological  order: 

Rodolphe  Kreutzer  (1766).  Pierre  M.  F.  Baillot  (1771). 
Pierre  Rode  (1774).  Nicolo  Paganini  (1782),  the  most 
famous  virtuoso  in  music  history.  Ludwig  Spohr  (1784), 
already  cited.  Karl  Joseph  Lipinski  (1790).  Charles  A. 
de  Beriot  (1802).  W.  Bernhard  Molique  (1803).  Ole 
Bull  (1810).  Ferd.  David  (1810).  Heinrich  W.  Ernst 
(1814).    Jean  D.  Alard  (1815).    Henri  Vieuxtemps  (1820). 


EDWARD   ELGAR 


Arthur   Hinton    (1869). 


312        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

Joseph  Joachim  (183 1),  called  the  king  of  modern  vio- 
hnists,  and  a  composer  of  very  great  talent  and  classic 
seriousness.  Edmund  Singer  (183 1).  Johann  C.  Lau- 
terbach  (1832).  Ferdinand  Laub  (1832).  Henri  Wieni- 
awski  (1835),  probably  next  in  rank  to  Joachim.  Pablo 
de  Sarasate  (1844).  Leopold  Auer  (1845).  August  Wil- 
helmj  (1845).  Emile  Sauret  (1852).  Cesar  Thomson 
(1857).  Eugene  Ysaye  (1858).  Karl  Halir  (1859). 
Franz  Kneisel  (1865).     Fritz  Kreisler  (1875). 

F.  Distinguished  violoncellists  were: 

Luigi  Boccherini.  Bernhard  Romberg.  Servais  (father 
and  son).  Auguste  Franchomme.  Karl  Davidow.  Ju- 
lius Rietz.  The  brothers  Goltermann.  The  brothers 
Griitzmacher.  Bernhard  Cossmann.  Robert  Hausmann. 
David  Popper.     Julius  Klengel. 

G.  Among  the  famous  orga^iists  and  composers  were: 
Johann  C.  H.  Rinck  (1770).     The  brothers  Schneider 

(1786,  1789).  Johann  G.  Topfer  (1791).  Adolf  Hesse 
(1809).  Karl  August  Haupt  (1810).  August  G.  Ritter 
(1811).  Wilhelm  Volckmar  (1812).  Moritz  Brosig  (1815). 
David  Herm.  Engel  (1816).  Karl  L.  Thiele  (1816). 
Heinrich  Stade  (1816).  Cesar  Franck  (1822).  Imman- 
uel  Faisst  (1823).  Gustave  Merkel  (1827).  Karl  Miil- 
ler-Hartung  (1834).  Camille  Saint-Saens  (1835).  Wil- 
liam T.  Best  (1836).  Alexandre  Guilmant  (1837). 
Charles  M.  Widor  (1845). 

//.  The  extended  list  of  able  and  distinguished 
pianists  embraces: 

Adolf  Henselt;  Felix  Dreyschock.  Charles  Halle. 
Julius  SchulhofF.  Louis  Brassin.  Theodore  Leschetizky. 
Brahms.  Hans  von  Biilow.  Anton  Rubinstein,  Carl 
Tausig.  Dionys  Pruckner.  Carl  Heymann.  Vladimir 
de  Pachman.  Bernhard  Stavenhagen.  Emil  Sauer. 
Moritz  Rosenthal.  Ignace  J.  Paderewski.  Alfred  Reis- 
senauer.  Ferruccio  Busoni.  Harold  Bauer.  Josef  Hof- 
mann.     Clara     Schumann.      Sophie     Menter.     Annette 


MUSICAL  CELEBRITIES  313 

EssipofF.  Mary  Krebs.  Anna  Mehlig.  Teresa  Careno. 
Martha  Remmert,  and  man}^  others, 

/.  Famous  orchestral  conductors  whose  influence,  in 
their  interpretation  of  the  works  of  choral  and  orchestral 
composers,  has  been  significant; 

Charles  Halle  (born  1819).  Karl  Reinecke  (1824). 
A.  F.  Manns  (1825).  Hans  von  Billow  (1830).  Leopold 
Damrosch  (1832).  Charles  Lamoureux  (1834).  Theo- 
dore Thomas  (1835).  Edouard  Colonne  (1838).  Her- 
mann Levi  (1839).  Hans  Richter  (1843).  Wilhelm 
Gericke  (1845).  George  Henschel  (1850).  Anton  Seidl 
(1850).  The  brothers  Steinbach.  Arthur  Nikisch  (1855). 
Emil  Paur  (1855).  Felix  Mottl  (1856).  Frank  van  der 
Stucken  (1858).  Karl  Muck  (1859).  Gustav  Mahler 
(i860).  Wasili  Safonoff.  Max  Fiedler.  Henry  Wood. 
Felix  Weingartner  (1863). 

/.  Finally,  honourable  mention  must  be  made  of  the 
modern  historians,  theorists,  critics,  and  great  teachers  who 
have  thrown  light  upon  the  history  and  aesthetics  of  the 
art  and  whose  labours  have  so  lightened  the  task  of  those 
who  study: 

R.  G.  Kiesewetter  (1773).  Carl  G.  A.  Winterfeld 
(1784).  F.  J.  Fetis  (1784).  Moritz  Hauptmann  (1792). 
S.  W.  Dehn  (1796).  Johann  C.  Lobe  (1797).  Adolf  B. 
Marx  (1799).  Charles  E.  Coussemaker  (1805).  N.  H. 
Reber  (1807).  Ernst  Richter  (1808).  Carl  F.  Weitzmann 
(1808).  Carl  F.  Brendel  (1811).  Franz  Commer  (1813). 
Otto  Jahn  (1813).  George  MacFarren  (1813).  Carl  H. 
Bitter  (1813).  August  W.  Ambros  (1816).  Edward  F. 
Rimbault  (1816).  M.  G.  Nottebohm  (1817).  A.  W. 
Tha)xr  (18 1 7).  Sir  George  Grove  (1820).  Joseph  W. 
Wasielewski  (1822).  Frederick  A.  G.  Ouseley  (1825). 
Otto  Kade  (1825).  August  Reissmann  (1825).  Eduard 
Hanslick  (1825).  Friedrich  Chrysander  (1826).  Rudolf 
Westphal  (1826).  Emil  Naumann  (1827).  Gavaert 
(1828).     Arrey  von  Dommer  (1828).     Johann  G.  Beller- 


314        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC   HISTORY 

mann  (1832).  Wilhelm  Langhans  (1832).  Ebenezer 
Prout  (1835).  Phillip  Spitta  (1841).  Heinrich  Adolf 
Kostlin  (1846).  Hugo  Riemann  (1849).  J.  A.  Fuller- 
Maitland    (1856,   London).     William   H.   Hadow   (1859). 


CHAPTER  XL 
THE   PRESENT   ERA 

The  ultra-modern  schools  of  musical  art  appear  to 
have  severed  the  last  thread  of  connection  with  those  of 
the  classic  era.  The  present  is  an  era  of  musical  extrava- 
gance which  has  cut  loose  from  tradition  and  diverged 
more  suddenly  and  more  radically  than  has  ever  before 
been  witnessed  in  the  transitions  from  period  to  period  in 
music  history.  Its  aim  is  a  still  more  intense  and  exclu- 
sive expression  of  persofial  emotion,  so  far  removed  from 
the  scientific  conditions  of  tone  relation  and  tone  associ- 
ation that  rules  are  not  only  superfluous  but  impeding; 
each  composer  of  the  present  age  repudiates  the  hitherto 
acknowledged  and  accepted  laws  and  becomes  a  law  to 
himself.  Notes  are  thus  arranged  upon  the  page,  not  be- 
cause the  rules  of  the  art  dictate  such  arrangement,  but 
merel}^  because  the  composer  himself  wants  them  to  be  so 
arranged  and  combined,  the  ostensible  incentive  and  law 
therefor  being  the  creation  of  certain  hitherto  unknown 
and  untried  tone  effects  which  reflect  or  express  emo- 
tions too  subtle  for  the  constraint  of  rule  and  system. 

In  some  instances  the  results  seem  wilful,  expressly 
ugly,  and  distressingly  artificial;  in  others  the  experi- 
ments afford  occasional  convincing  glimpses  of  new,  wider, 
and  singularly  powerful  resources  which  hold  forth  en- 
couraging promises  of  the  possibility  of  penetrating  deeper 
into  the  visions  and  susceptibilities  of  the  human  soul 
and  of  opening  up  new  and  valuable  avenues  of  musical 
expression. 

From  a  purely  theoretical  standpoint,  the  novel  meth- 

315 


3i6        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

ods  of  tone  association  cannot  be  condemned;  for  classic 
theory  and  practice  recognise  the  perfect  legitimacy  of 
"any  conceivable  chord  succession"  when  made  smoothly 
and  through  the  agency  of  chromatics  or  enharmonics; 
recognise  the  legitimacy  and  necessity  of  the  dissonance, 
and  of  embellishment  with  the  inharmonic  "neighbours" 
of  the  harmonic  intervals— declare,  in  a  word,  there  is  no 
combination  that  may  not  be  justified  by  proper  reason- 
ing from  the  tenets  of 
ph3"sical  tone  relation. 
But  the  classic  concep- 
tion also  recognised  the 
natural  limits  and  pro- 
portions in  the  employ- 
ment of  the  dissonances 
and  the  "neighbours," 
and  these  the  ultra- 
modern era  apparently 
ignores.  There  is  a  ten- 
dency to  multiply  disso- 
nances and  increase  the 
volume  and  prominence 
of  the  inharmonic  tones 
which  threatens  to  dis- 
rupt the  beliefs  in  what 
music  should  be. 

Mozart's   wonderfully 
CESAR  FRANCK  Sensitive   musical   con- 

science, which  insisted 
upon  preserving  fundamental  relation  and  consequent 
natural  cohesion  between  each  group  of  two  or  three  chords 
and  the  next  similar  group,  seems  a  dead  factor  in  modern 
music,  where  very  often  chords  are  placed  abruptly  side  by 
side  between  which  no  relation  whatever  can  be  traced. 
Not  only  the  classic  standard  but  all  standards  seem 
swept  aside,  and  on  some  modern  pages  it  is  difficult  to 
discriminate  between  misjudgments  and  misprints. 


THE   PRESENT   ERA 


317 


GUSTAVE   CHARPENTIER 


What  the  ultimate  issue  of 
this  pecuhar  tendency  may  be 
cannot  be  foretold;  but  it  was 
as  inevitable  as  it  was  neces- 
sary, and,  as  intimated,  it  has 
already  vindicated  itself  in 
some  measure. 

The  earliest  pioneer  in  the 
new  art  endeavour  was  Cesar 
Franck  (born  December  10, 
1822),  a  French  master  of  rare 
genius,  with  a  fine  sense  of 
those  tone  affinities  which  tran- 
scend the  theoreticall}^  defined 
tone  relations;  and  a  scholar 
whose  mastery  of  counterpoint 
forcibly  recalls  the  art  of  those 

early  Netherland  masters,  natives  of  the  same  geograph- 
ical zone  that  gave  birth  to  Franck.  His  forms  are 
perfectly  logical  and  as  broad  and  great  as  those  of 
Beethoven;  his  style  is  verj^  vigorous,  and  the  effects  he 
creates  are  fascinating  and  very  beautiful. 

Franck  was  followed  in  France 
(where  the  ultra-modern  stj^le  seems 
to  flourish  most  vigorously)  by  Vincent 
d'lndy — equally  scholarly  but  less 
coherent  than  Franck  and  less  con- 
siderate of  tonal  beauty — and  Claude 
Debussy,  whose  curious  tone  effusions 
are  a  mixture  of  effects  that  are  often 
amazingly  beautiful  and  often  strik- 
ingly disagreeable,  at  times  vague 
and  uncertam,  and  agam  as  clear  as 
sunlight.  Other  French  writers  of 
similar  revolutionary  tendency  are: 
Lekeu,  Ravel,  Dukas,  and  Charpen- 
RicHARD  STRAUSS        tier. 


3i8        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

The  most  original  and  powerful  exponent  of  the  ultra- 
modern conception  is  Richard  Strauss,  who  promises  to  be 
one  of  the  most  striking  figures  in  music  history.  Strauss 
was  born,  June  ii,  1864,  at  Munich,  son  of  the  first 
horn-player  in  the  court  opera-house.  In  1885  he  was 
appointed  orchestral  director  at  Meiningen,  from  1889 
to  1894  was  chapelmaster  in  Weimar,  then  conductor 
in  Munich.  He  has  recently  travelled  much  and  composed 
incessantly. 


J/iAy-i^^      ^<-t^  Jfe£cU>»^^^6-'--. 


Strauss  is  undoubtedly  a  musical  genius  of  extraordi- 
nary endowment  and  intellect  and  commands  a  wide 
range  of  original  resources.  His  harmonies  are  rich;  his 
melodies  often  peculiar  but  quite  as  often  filled  with  the 
spirit  of  classic  naturalness  and  beauty;  his  rhythms  are 


THE   PRESENT  ERA  319 

vital,  energetic,  and  novel;  his  counterpoint  infinitely 
scholarly  and  free;  and  his  orchestration  extremely  opu- 
lent and  vivid. 

He  is  almost  as  complete  a  master  of  the  climax  as  was 
Richard  Wagner,  but  his  contrasts  are  more  often  strik- 
ing than  wholly  pleasurable.  Strauss  is  apparently  sin- 
cere in  his  artistic  attitude  and  serious  in  his  aims,  though 
so  revolutionary  and  daring  that  he  sometimes  arouses 
the  suspicion  of  aiming  for  effect  only.  His  most  pre- 
tentious creations  are  his  symphonic  poems,  Also  sprach 
Zarathustra,  Till  Eidenspiegel,  Don  Quixote,  Heldenleben, 
Sinfonia  domestica,  and  his  operas  Salome,  Elektra,  Ro- 
senkavalier,  etc.  His  songs,  already  numerous,  are  exceed- 
ingly impressive  and  often  of  fascinating  beauty  and 
emotional  depth. 


320 


ESSENTIALS  IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


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CHAPTER  XLI 
MUSIC  IN  AMERICA 

Music  in  North  America  during  the  early  period  of 
colonisation  was  but  a  faint  reflex  of  the  musical  condi- 
tions and  practices  of  those  European  countries  which 
contributed  to  the  peopling  of  the  western  hemisphere. 

It  continued  thus  until  within  little  more  than  the  past 
centur}^.  Those  who  sought  the  New  World  were  ani- 
mated by  sterner  purposes  and  had  little  time  and  possibly 
little  inclination  to  occupy  themselves  with  the  pursuit  of 
music.  There  were,  no  doubt,  some  among  them  whose 
love  of  music  was  deep  and  not  easily  repressed.  The 
more  cultured  emigrants  were  familiar  with  the  musical 
activities  of  the  mother  country  and  carried  to  their 
new  home  memories  of  its  madrigals,  glees,  ballads,  and 
even,  perhaps  (in  later  days),  of  the  early  operas.  But 
there  was  no  possibility  of  continuing  this  form  of  enter- 
tainment in  the  new  and  primitive  surroundings,  and  their 
musical  cravings  must  needs  be  satisfied  with  the  strains 
of  a  fiddle,  or  flute,  or  bass  viol,  with  which  its  owner 
would  not  part  even  when  embarking  with  scanty  be- 
longings on  the  perilous  western  voyage.  In  wealthy 
homes  a  harpsichord  or  spinet  was  sometimes  found.  In 
the  South  the  Spanish  lutes  were  fairly  common  and  led, 
in  time,  to  the  guitar,  banjo,  and  mandolin  of  to-day. 
Social  choirs  were  probably  cultivated  to  some  extent, 
and  the  music  of  the  churches  soon  became  a  matter  of 
real  concern — indeed,  the  most  significant  factor  in  pre- 
serving the  life  of  music  in  America,  especially  in  the 
more  northern  colonies. 

But  it  is  evident  that  music  on  this  side  of  the  At- 

3-21 


322        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC   HISTORY 


lantic  was  like  a  flower  cut  from  its  stem.  For  more  than 
a  century  after  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims,  practically 
all  but  the  most  slender  threads  of  contact  with  the  old 
world  were  severed,  and  it  was  almost  as  if  the  history 
of  music  was  to  begin  again  in  the  New  World,  in  all 
excepting  its  fundamental  traditions.  Then,  very  gradu- 
ally, fuller  contact  was  established,  and  music  began  to 
thrive  in  America  with  slowly  increasing  vigour. 

About  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  English 
ballad  operas  and  popular  plays  were 
occasionally  introduced  into  the  colo- 
nies, and  interest  in  various  phases  of 
music-making  slowly  awakened. 
The  interest  in  secular  music,  how- 
ever, continued  for  some  time  to  be 
secondary  to  that  attached  to  the 
music  of  the  church;  while  the  former 
was  tolerated,  and  to  some  extent  en- 
joyed, church  music  was  regarded  as 
essential  and  worthy  of  active  parti- 
cipation. The  h3^mn  tunes  of  Hop- 
kinson  (who  died  in  1791),  William 
Billings  (Boston,  1746-1800),  Oliver  Holden  (Massachu- 
setts, 1765-1834),  and  a  few  others,  though  in  no  musical 
sense  significant  or  calculated  to  contribute  in  the  slightest 
measure  to  actual  musical  promotion,  were,  nevertheless, 
distinctively  American  products.  Of  far  greater  lasting 
worth  were  the  works  of  Thomas  Hastings  (1787-1872) 
and  particularly  of  that  distinguished  pioneer  Lowell 
Mason  (1792-1872),  both  of  whom  continued  to  supply  the 
church  with  hj^mn  tunes  and  anthems  of  appropriate  char- 
acter and  constantly  improving  quality. 

After  a  while  renewed  attempts  were  made  to  bring 
European  opera  across  the  water.  New  Orleans  organ- 
ised an  operatic  enterprise  as  early  as  1791,  utilising  works 
of  French  and  Italian  origin.  Philadelphia  and  New 
York  followed  with  similar  projects  in  1793.     In  the  lat- 


LOWELL  MASON 


MUSIC  IN  AMERICA  323 

ter  city  early  efforts  were  made  in  operatic  composition 
by  native-born  musicians,  though  American  opera  could 
boast  of  nothing  enduring  before  the  da3^s  of  William  H. 
Fry  (Philadelphia,  1813-64),  whose  Leonora  was  pre- 
sented with  a  measure  of  success  in  1845.  The  English 
Beggar's  Opera  and  ballad  operas  became  popular  in 
New  York  in  1850.  In  1825,  members  of  the  celebrated 
Garcia  family  began  a  series  of  operatic  performances,  in 
the  serious  style,  in  New  York.  An  Italian  opera-house 
was  opened  in  1833. 

From  this  it  is  apparent  that  during  the  first  half  of 
the  nineteenth  century  the  United  States  was  beginning 
to  attract  the  attention  of  European  artists  (or  of  their 
enterprising  managers),  and  then  it  was  that  the  stream 
of  modern  troubadours  began  to  flow  into  the  New  World 
— a  stream  that  was  to  bring  to  the  music  lovers  of  the 
western  hemisphere  all  the  wealth  of  the  parent  countries 
and  to  stimulate  and  confirm  more  wide-spread  and  en- 
thusiastic interest  in  the  art  of  music. 

The  Garcias  were  followed  by  the  violinist  Ole  Bull  (in 
1843),  Jenny  Lind  (1850),  Henriette  Sontag  (1852),  the 
violinist  Camilla  Urso  (1852),  the  singers  Alboni  (1853), 
Grisi  and  Mario  (1854),  Madame  La  Grange  (1855),  and 
Adelina  Patti  (1859);  later  by  eminent  instrumentalists: 
Anton  Rubinstein  and  Henri  Wieniawski  (both  in  1872), 
Hans  von  Biilow,  Eugen  d'Albert,  Ignace  Paderewski, 
and  a  multitude  of  others,  until  to-day  no  European  vir- 
tuoso thinks  of  omitting  America  from  his  concert  tours. 
Through  these  artists  the  best  that  the  Old  World  pro- 
duces is  brought  to  our  doors,  and  the  artistic  standing 
of  the  two  continents  is  in  this  manner  steadily  and  surely 
approaching  the  inevitable  equilibrium. 

Meanwhile,  through  the  founding  of  various  musical 
organisations  (whereby  the  impulse  and  influence  of  Eu- 
rope is  again  noteworthy),  music  in  America  may  be  said 
to  have  awakened  by  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury to  something  like  an  independent  existence  and  to 


324        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


have  begun  to  assume  a  vital  place  in  the  life  and  artis- 
tic history  of  the  nation. 

The  earliest  choral  or  musical  association  in  America, 
called  into  existence  to  gratify  the  craving  for  a  wider 
social  participation  in  musical  and  choral  practice  than 
was  obtainable  in  fireside  song,  was  founded  about  the 
beginning  of  the  war  of  independence.  This  was  the 
Stoughton  Musical  Society   (Massachusetts).     The  next 

was  the  famous  Handel  and  Haydn 
Society,  organised  in  Boston 
shortly  after  the  close  of  the  sec- 
ond war  with  England  (in  1815). 
About  1799  Gottlieb  Graupner,  a 
German,  founded  the  first  primi- 
tive orchestra,  the  "  Philhar- 
monic," which  continued  in  exis- 
tence until  1824.  This  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  Musical  FundSociety 
in  Philadelphia  (1821  until  1857), 
devoted  to  both  vocal  and  instru- 
mental music,  the  New  York 
Choral  Society  in  1823,  and  the 
Boston  Academy  of  Music  in  1833.  The  Academy  Or- 
chestra was  organised  in  Boston  in  1840,  the  New  York 
Philharmonic  Orchestra  in  1842  by  U.  C.  Hill,  one  of  the 
first  Americans  to  study  in  Germany,  and  the  Germania 
Orchestra  about  1850.  In  1864  Theodore  Thomas 
founded  his  own  orchestra  in  New  York.  In  1866,  the 
Harvard  Musical  Association  was  organised  in  Cambridge, 
with  Carl  Zerrahn  as  its  leader.  Then  followed  the  New 
York  Oratorio  Society,  founded  in  1873  by  Leopold 
Damrosch;  the  Cecilia  Society  in  1877  (Boston,  directed 
by  Benjamin  J.  Lang);  the  New  York  Symphony  Or- 
chestra (1878,  Leopold  Damrosch);  the  Boston  Philhar- 
monic in  1880  (Bernhard  Listemann);  the  Musical  Art 
Society  (New  York,  Frank  Damrosch);  and  the  Boston 
Symphony  Orchestra,  which,  under  the  successive  direc- 


TIIEODORE  THOMAS 


MUSIC   IN  AMERICA 


325 


tion  of  George  Henschel,  Wilhelm  Gericke,  Arthur  Ni- 
kisch,  Emil  Pauer,  and  other  eminent  European  musi- 
cians has  achieved  a  rank  of  artistic  excellence  second  to 
none  in  the  world.  The  equally  significant  organisation 
of  the  New  York  Metropolitan  Opera  took  place  in  1883. 
Then  came  the  Chicago  Orchestra  of  Theodore  Thomas 
in  1890;  and  at  present  Bal- 
timore, Philadelphia,  Cin- 
cinnati, and  many  more 
American  cities  maintain 
their  permanent  orchestras. 

These  larger  bodies  pro- 
vided both  the  incentive  and 
the  material  for  chamber- 
music  associations  whose  edu- 
cating and  refining  influence 
was  of  equal  though  less  ob- 
vious and  wide-spread  sig- 
nificance. The  first  string 
quartet  appeared  in  1843,  the 
Mendelssohn  Quintet  Club 
in  1849,  and  the  list  of  simi- 
lar organisations,  up  to  the  Kneisel  and  Flonzaley  string 
quartets,  has  steadily  increased  in  number  and  impor- 
tance. 

Further  opportunities  of  popularising  the  classic  prod- 
ucts of  European  masters  and  of  securing  a  hearing  for 
original  American  works  were  furnished  by  the  numerous 
periodic  music  festivals,  among  which  those  of  Worces- 
ter (Massachusetts),  Chicago,  the  May  festivals  in  Cin- 
cinnati, and  the  Bach  festivals  in  Bethlehem,  Penn- 
sylvania, have  become  noteworthy  national  institutions. 

These  mediums  of  broader  public  education  were  most 
powerfully  supplemented  by  the  establishing  of  music 
schools  which  supplied  direct  private  instruction  to  the 
people.  Foremost  among  the  pioneers  in  this  movement 
was  Eben  Tourjee  (born  in  Rhode  Island  in  1834),  who 


LEOPOLD   DAMROSCH 


326        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

founded  a  musical  institute  in  East  Greenwich  in  1859, 
the  Providence  (Rhode  Island)  Conservatory  of  Music  a 
few  years  later,  and,  in  1867,  the  New  England  Conserva- 
tory of  Music  in  Boston.  Other  important  music  acad- 
emies are  the  Cincinnati  College  of  Music,  the  National 
Conservatory  of  New  York,  the  Institute  of  Musical  Art 
of  New  York  (founded  in  1905),  besides  a  host  of  smaller 
schools,  of  greater  or  lesser  efficiency,  representing  every 
large  city  in  the  country.  In  recent  3'ears  dignity  has 
been  lent  to  these  systems  of  education  by  the  recogni- 
tion and  establishment  of  regular  music  courses  in  nearly 
all  American  universities. 

In  this  connection  special  mention  must  be  made  of 
the  eminent  services  rendered  b}^  such  teachers  as  Wil- 
liam Mason,  Rafael  Joseffy  (Hungary),  and  Carl  Baer- 
mann  (Germany). 

Powerful  agents  in  the  dissemination  of  musical  knowl- 
edge were  the  rapidly  increasing  music-publishing  houses, 
through  which  the  best  and  newest  compositions  from 
abroad  and  from  home  became  accessible.  The  first 
of  note  was  that  of  Oliver  Ditson  (Boston,  1832),  followed 
by  G.  Schirmer  (1861),  Theodore  Presser  (Philadelphia), 
A.  P.  Schmidt  (Boston,  1876),  Lyon  &  Healy  (Chicago). 

The  equally  momentous  pianoforte  industry  dates 
back  about  a  century;  that  of  the  organ  still  farther. 
The  first  American  organ  is  said  to  have  been  built  as 
early  as  1745  by  Edward  Bromfield.  John  Harris  (Bos- 
ton) is  recorded  as  repairer  and  maker  of  spinets  and  harp- 
sichords in  1769.  Jonas  Chickering  (born,  1798,  in  New 
Hampshire)  began  to  manufacture  pianofortes  in  1823. 
The  Steinways  came  from  Germany  to  New  York  and 
founded  their  great  pianoforte  industry  there  in  1853,  to 
be  followed  shortly  by  Knabe,  Weber,  Mason  &  Hamlin, 
and  many  other  makers. 

From  all  this  the  reader  may  verify  the  rapidity  and 
vigour  of  the  development  of  music  in  America.  Aborig- 
inal music  was  absolutely  valueless,  bearing  no  other  rela- 


MUSIC   IN  AMERICA 


327 


tion  to  this  progress  than  has  been  ascribed  to  that  class 
of  primitive  utterance  treated  in  the  first  chapters.  The 
dormant  art,  kept  ahve  for  a  time  by  faint  echoes  from 
Europe,  awakened  and  accumulated  in  but  little  more 
than  a  century  a  vitalit)^  which  has  elevated  it  to  a 
degree  of  independent  excellence  that  now  compels  the 
attention  of  other  musical  nations.  Though  the  latter 
still  look  with  some 
mistrust  upon  the 
American  composer, 
it  is  undeniable  that 
the  long  list  of  those 
whose  creations  are 
distinctive — begin- 
ningwith  that  modest 
writer  of  popular 
songs,  S.  C.  Foster 
(1826-64),  and  in- 
cluding such  names 
as  J.  K.  Paine  (born, 
1839,  in  Maine),  F. 
G.  Gleason  (1848), 
Arthur  Foote  (1853, 
Ma  ssachusetts), 

George  W.  Chadwick  (1854,  Massachusetts),  Edgar  Still- 
man  Kelley  (1857,  Wisconsin),  E.  A.  MacDowell  (1861, 
New  York),  Arthur  Whiting  (1861),  Horatio  W.  Parker 
(1863,  Massachusetts),  Mrs.  H.  H.  A.  Beach  (1867,  New 
Hampshire),  H.  K.  Hadley  (1871),  F.  S.  Converse  (1871) 
— is  securing  the  recognition  of  a  musical  spirit  that  is 
rapidly  becoming  as  active  and  significant  as  that  of  the 
Old  World.  This  list  has  been  strongly  reinforced  by 
foreign-born  composers:  Louis  Maas  (1852,  Wiesbaden), 
Victor  Herbert  (1859,  Dublin),  C.  M.  Loeffler  (1861,  Al- 
sace), and  Walter  Damrosch  (1862,  Breslau),  who  have 
made  America  their  home.  The  American  spirit  has 
been  vitalised  by  the  transient  visits  of  such  educators  as 


STEPHEN   C.    FOSTER 


328        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC   HISTORY 

George  Henschel,  Antonin  Dvorak  (New  York,  1892-5), 
and  Ferruccio  Busoni  (Boston,  1891-2). 

To  all  of  these  influences  must  be  added  that  of  the 
literary  men  whose  critical  writings  have  contributed  to 
the  enlightenment  and  judgment  of  the  public.  This  list 
embraces,  among  many  others,  the  names  of  J.  S.  Dwight 
(born,  1 81 3,  in  Boston),  A.  W.  Thayer  (18 17,  Massachu- 
setts), F.  L.  Ritter  (1834,  Strassburg),  G.  P.  Upton  (1835, 
Boston),  W.  S.  B.  Matthews  (1837,  New  Hampshire), 
W.  F.  Apthorp  (1848,  Boston),  Louis  C.  Elson  (1848, 
Boston),  Henry  E.  Krehbiel  (1854,  Michigan),  Philip 
Hale,  H.  T.  Finck,  W.  J.  Henderson,  and  J.  G.  Huneker. 

America  has  produced  a  number  of  distinguished  pian- 
ists, who,  though  indebted  to  European  masters  for  their 
training,  have  demonstrated  the  sterling  quality  of  their 
talent  and  have  exerted  a  powerful  influence  upon 
American  musical  life.  This  phase  of  artistic  activity 
is  represented  by  Louis  Moreau  Gottschalk,  Sebastian 
Bach  Mills,  William  Mason,  William  H.  Sherwood,  Fanny 
Bloomfield-Zeisler,  Julia  Rive-King,  and  many  of  the 
above-mentioned  American  composers.  American  organ- 
ists of  distinction  are:  George  W.  Morgan  (1822),  G.  W. 
Warren  (1828),  Frederick  Archer  (1838),  Dudley  Buck 
(1839),  S.  P.  Warren  (1841),  S.  B.  Whitney  (1842),  George 
E.  Whiting  (1842),  Clarence  Eddy  (185 1),  Wallace  Good- 
rich (1871). 


CHAPTER  XLII 
THE   ESSENTIALS  OF  A  MUSIC  LIBRARY* 

At  the  outset  of  this  chapter  the  reader  is  earnestly 
urged  to  form  a  personal  music  library  of  his  own.  It 
is  often  advisable  and,  indeed,  necessary  to  consult  books 
in  a  public  library,  but  there  are  a  pleasure  and  satisfac- 
tion in  having  one's  own  books  which  are  well  worth  the 
necessar}^  outlay  or  sacrifice,  and  such  purchases  consti- 
tute an  investment  which  will  yield  abundant  interest. 
To  have  books  on  one's  own  shelves  for  reading  or  con- 
sultation at  any  time  not  only  gives  them  a  great  added 
interest  but  creates  a  sense  of  ownership  and  aflfectionate 
regard  for  the  volumes  which  is  an  invaluable  stimulus 
to  the  student  and  is  not  likely  to  be  fostered  in  any 
other  way. 

In  making  such  a  collection  it  is  well  to  bear  in  mind 
that  it  is  not  necessary  to  buy  a  lot  of  books  at  one  time, 
but  that  it  is  better  to  build  it  up  by  degrees  and  to  as- 
certain carefully  just  what  is  likely  to  be  permanently 
useful.  Several  well-chosen  books  added  each  year  at  a 
comparatively  small  cost  will  result  in  course  of  time  in 
the  formation  of  a  library  which  will  be  a  constant  source 
of  delight  and  practical  service. 

The  suggestions  herein  made  are  far  from  exhaustive 
or  inclusive  of  all  phases  of  the  art,  as  to  cover  its  liter- 
ature adequately  would  require  a  whole  volume.  The 
endeavour  has  been  made,  however,  to  give  some  help- 
ful hints  and  suggestions  in  an  attractive  field  of  study. 
For  convenience  of  reference,  and  following  the  natural  se- 

*  Contributed  by  Frank  H.  Marling. 
329 


330        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

quence  of  the  varied  interests  of  the  reader,  the  material 
has  been  grouped  under  various  divisions,  making  the 
information  more  easily  accessible.  By  this  method  the 
special  student  in  any  form  of  music  is  able  to  find  par- 
ticulars regarding  books  in  his  own  department.  The 
publisher  and  price  have  been  mentioned  in  each  case,  as 
it  is  believed  that  these  practical  details  will  greatly  as- 
sist the  reader  in  his  choice.  Care  has  been  taken  to 
include  only  volumes  in  print  (with  rare  exceptions,  as 
indicated)  so  that  those  recommended  should  be  procured 
without  much  difficulty.  It  has  been  the  aim  of  the  com- 
piler to  mention  only  works  of  genuine  worth,  though,  for 
lack  of  space,  some  excellent  books  have  had  to  go  unre- 
corded. It  is  also  deemed  wise  to  confine  the  list  to  works 
in  the  English  language,  as  in  this  way  the  needs  of  the 
great  majority  of  readers  will  be  met,  and  to  go  into 
foreign  literature  would  open  a  field  impossible  to  cover 
within  the  prescribed  limits.  For  the  same  reason  there 
have  been  included  very  few  of  the  numerous  works  on 
method  and  technic. 

Works  of  Reference 

An  almost  indispensable  work  in  a  musical  library  of 
any  completeness  is  Grove's  Dictionary  of  Music  and 
Musicians  (five  vols.,  ^25,  Macmillan).  A  new  and 
revised  edition  has  recently  appeared,  devoting  special 
attention  to  American  music  and  bringing  the  informa- 
tion generally  down  to  date.  It  is  without  an  equal  in 
the  English  language  for  a  comprehensive  and  scholarly 
treatment  of  all  branches  of  the  art,  and  forms  an  invalu- 
able storehouse  of  facts  on  musical  matters  of  all  kinds. 

Of  special  value  are  its  critical  and  scientific  articles 
and  its  monographs  on  the  great  composers,  written  by 
specialists.  Its  possession  will  obviate  the  necessity  of 
purchasing  many  smaller  and  more  fragmentary  works. 

Another  reference  work  is  Famous  Composers  a7id  Their 


ESSENTIALS  OF  A  MUSIC  LIBRARY     331 


Works,  hy  J.  K.  Paine  and  others  (six  vols.,  ^24,  J.  B. 
Millet  Company),  a  work  of  unusual  charm  and  interest, 
covering  the  whole  field  of  music  and  treating  all  schools 
and  nationalities  in  a  fascinating  way.  The  chapters  are 
the  work  of  different  American,  English,  and  foreign  noted 
critics,  each  full  of  enthusiasm  for  his  theme.  A  distinc- 
tive feature  is  its  wealth  of  illustrative  matter  of  all  kinds. 

For  those  who  cannot  afford  such  expensive  works 
there  is  an  excellent  one- 
volume  (Riemann's)  Diction- 
ary of  Music  (^4.50,  Presser), 
by  the  well-known  German 
critic  and  writer,  which  gives 
the  most  essential  informa- 
tion in  concise  and  accurate 
form. 

The  Musical  Guide,  by  Ru- 
pert Hughes  ($1.50,  Doub- 
leday,  Page  &  Company),  is 
a  one-volume  work  consti- 
tuting a  multuni  in  parvo  on 
musical   lines,  containing,  as 

it  does,  a  pronouncing  and  defining  dictionary  of  terms 
and  instruments,  with  a  key  to  the  pronunciation  of  six- 
teen languages  and  a  pronouncing  biographical  dictionary. 

Admirable,  also,  are  the  two  dictionaries  by  Theo- 
dore Baker,  Biographical  Dictionary  of  Musicians  (^3.50, 
Schirmer)  and  Dictionary  of  Musical  Terms  {$1,  Schir- 
mer),  both  being  models  of  authoritative  and  condensed 
statement. 

Another  useful  book  is  Lavignac's  Music  and  Musi- 
cians (^1.75,  Holt),  which  includes  a  large  variety  of  in- 
valuable facts  about  the  technical  side  of  music  and  some 
chapters  on  American  and  European  composers. 

A  handy  series  of  reference  books  on  music  is  the 
Music  Story  Series  (thirteen  vols.,  each  $1.25,  Scribners). 
These  embrace   a  wide  range  of  historical  research  and 


332        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

comprise  musical  form,  notation,  the  carol,  minstrelsy, 
the  violin,  organ,  etc.  The  student  can  obtain  in  them 
much  detailed  knowledge  in  any  special  department  for 
which  the  ordinary  musical  dictionary  has  no  room,  and 
the  numerous  illustrations  are  of  additional  value.  One 
of  the  first  books  to  present  music  as  a  language  was 
Music  Explained  to  the  World  by  F.  J.  Fetis  ($1.50, 
Ditson).  This  was  the  forerunner  of  a  number  of  volumes 
that  have  attempted  to  bring  the  message  of  music  to  the 
seeker  after  culture. 

Histories  of  Music 

The  most  scholarh^  and  comprehensive  history  of  music 
in  print  is  doubtless  the  Oxford  History  of  Music  (six  vols., 
8vo,  ^30,  Oxford  Universit}^  Press),  though  its  size  and 
price  and  severely  critical  and  technical  form  make  it 
unavailable  for  most  students. 

The  old  histories  of  Burney  and  Hawkins,  though  full 
of  antiquarian  interest  to  the  lover  of  old  times,  are,  of 
course,  now  entirely  out  of  date  and  lack  in  modern  sci- 
entific authorit}^ 

The  General  History  of  Music,  by  W.  S.  Rockstro 
($3.50,  Scribners),  is  by  an  accomplished  English  musical 
writer  and  contributor  to  Grovels  Dictionary.  It  is  in 
the  main  accurate  and  fair  though  somewhat  lacking  in 
appreciation  of  the  modern  schools. 

Professor  Waldo  S.  Pratt's  History  of  Music  ($3, 
Schirmer)  is  to  be  commended  for  its  skilful  condensa- 
tion of  its  vast  array  of  materials,  having  been  well  char- 
acterised as  "a  sort  of  combined  history  and  biograph- 
ical dictionar}^  and  a  minute  and  scholarly  treatise." 

An  invaluable  summary  of  musical  history  for  the  gui- 
dance of  students  is  the  Study  of  the  History  of  Music, 
by  Edward  Dickinson,  the  well-known  professor  of  mu- 
sical histor)^  at  Oberlin  University  (^2.50,  Scribners). 
The  story  is  told  in  clear,  outline  form,  and  a  feature  of 


ESSENTIALS  OF  A  MUSIC  LIBRARY      333 


exceptional  usefulness  is  the  very  full  references  to  musical 
literature  for  further  study  throughout  every  section  and 
chapter. 

A  smaller  work  is  Hunt's  Concise  History  of  Music 
($1,  Scribners),  an  old  favourite  packed  full  of  the  es- 
sential details  and  dates  in  abbreviated  form. 

More  recent  works,  each  of  which 
has  found  acceptance  with  students, 
are  Hamilton's  Outlines  of  Music 
History  (^1.50,  Ditson)  and  Math- 
ews' Popular  History  of  Music  {$2, 
Mathews'  Publishing  Company). 

The  History  of  Music,  hy  J.  F. 
Rowbotham  ($2.50,  Scribners), 
comes  down  only  to  the  time  of  the 
troubadours,  but  is  specially  explicit 
on  ancient  and  mediaeval  music. 

The  English  composer  C.  H.  H. 
Parry  is  also  an  accomplished  writer. 
His    Evolution  of  the   Art  of  Music 

(^1.75,  Appleton)  is  described  by  a  competent  judge  as 
"  a  series  of  thoroughly  admirable  essays,  scientific  in 
spirit,  and  sound." 


EDWARD   DICKINSON 


Histories  of  Modern  Music 

A  timely  book  in  this  sphere  is  Modern  Composers  of 
Europe,  by  Arthur  Elson  {$2,  L.  C.  Page  &  Company), 
which  gives  an  account  in  moderate  compass  of  the  noted 
composers  of  all  schools  of  the  day,  about  whom  it  is  often 
difficult  to  get  definite  information. 

Other  studies  dealing,  with  intelligence  and  acumen, 
with  the  very  latest  writers  are  Oilman's  Phases  of  Mod- 
ern Music  (^1.25,  John  Lane  Company),  and  The  Music 
of  To-Morrow  and  Other  Studies  (^1.25,  John  Lane  Com- 
pany), by  the  same  author,  treating  of  Debussy,  Richard 
Strauss,  and  others. 


334        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

Masters  of  Italian  Music,  hy  R.  A.  Streatfeild  ($1.75, 
Scribners)  presents  an  interesting  interpretation  of  Ital- 
ian contemporary  composers. 

History  of  National  Music  and  Folk-Lore 

Primitive  Music,  by  A.  Wallaschek  (^4.50,  Longmans), 
is  a  comprehensive  and  learned  review  of  the  origin  and 
development  of  the  music,  songs,  instruments,  and  dances 
of  the  savage  races. 

Carl  Engel's  Study  of  National  Music  (out  of  print) 
and  his  Literature  of  National  Alusic  {$2,  Novello),  also 
Music  of  the  Most  Ancient  Nations  (^3.50,  Reeves),  em- 
body the  matured  convictions  of  a  patient  and  thorough 
investigator  of  historical  sources. 

The  National  Music  of  the  World,  by  H.  F.  Chorley 
(^1.50,  Reeves),  a  noted  London  music  critic,  is  probably 
the  most  readable  and  popular  account  for  the  general 
reader. 

H.  E.  Krehbiel's  Afro-American  Folk  Songs  {$2, 
Schirmer)  is  a  study  in  racial  and  national  music,  the 
outcome  of  many  years  of  patient  and  loving  labour,  and 
forms  a  pioneer  work  on  this  theme  which  is  handled 
with  Mr.  Krehbiel's  acknowledged  originality  and  ample 
scholarship. 

History  of  Music  in  America 

The  most  considerable  work  in  this  department  is 
History  of  American  Music,  by  L.  C.  Elson  (^5,  Macmil- 
lan),  an  ample  volume  crowded  with  illustrations  and 
treating  a  difficult  subject  with  sympathy  and  impartial- 
it}^;  readable  in  style  and  forming,  on  the  whole,  the 
most  complete  all-around  review  extant  of  our  country's 
musical  institutions  and  men. 

One  Hundred  Years  of  Music  in  America,  edited  by 
W.  S.  B.  Mathews  (^3,  Presser),  is  a  thick  octavo  volume 
with    much    detailed    information    of    native    musicians 


ESSENTIALS  OF  A  MUSIC  LIBRARY     335 

though  not  possessing  large  critical  or  discriminating 
value. 

Famous  American  Composers,  by  Rupert  Hughes  (^1.50, 
L.  C.  Page  &  Company),  is  to  be  noted  for  its  enthusiasm, 
vivacity,  and  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  composi- 
tions of  our  countrymen,  particularly  those  of  the  pres- 
ent time. 

In  Famous  Composers  and  Their  Works,  mentioned  be- 
fore, Mr.  Krehbiel  has  a  chapter  on  American  composers 
giving  a  fair  and  trustworthy  estimate  of  their  achieve- 
ments, and  the  same  writer  has  some  valuable  comments 
on  the  same  topic  in  the  appendix  to  Lavignac's  Music 
and  Musicians  ($1.75,  Holt). 

Biographical  Works 

We  must  first  chronicle  soriie  general  biographical  se- 
ries, the  most  recent  of  which  is  Masters  of  Music,  ed- 
ited by  F.  J.  Crowest  (twelve  vols.,  each  $1.25,  Dutton). 
This  covers  satisfactorily  nearly  all  the  great  composers, 
who  have  been  intrusted  to  competent  hands  that  have 
made  workmanlike  use  of  their  materials.  In  size,  illus- 
trations, and  form  they  are  all  most  attractive. 

A  similar  series  of  able  monographs  by  British  writers, 
called  The  Great  Musicians  edited  by  Francis  HuefFer 
(ten  vols.,  each  $1,  Scribners),  have  been  on  the  market 
for  many  years,  being  pioneer  works  in  this  field,  and 
have  recently  been  reissued  in  improved  form. 

Another  compilation  is  the  George  T.  Ferris  Series  of 
Music  Biographies  (five  vols.,  each  ^i,  Appleton),  a  most 
engaging  little  set,  including  the  great  German,  Italian, 
and  French  masters  as  well  as  the  great  singers,  violin- 
ists, and  pianists.  They  are  extremely  readable  and 
abound  in  apt  anecdote  and  vivacious  description. 

Not  to  be  overlooked  is  the  series  Living  Masters  in 
Music,  edited  by  Rosa  Newmarch  (ten  vols.,  each  $1, 
John  Lane  Company),  of  special  timehness  for  its  very 


336        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

full  accounts  of  contemporary  musicians,  in  which  the 
student  will  find  most  interesting  particulars  about 
such  "moderns"  as  Debussy,  Leschetizky,  Paderewski, 
Puccini,  Richard  Strauss,  and  others.  We  would  also 
include  in  this  connection,  the  invaluable  set  of  Famous 
Composers  and  Their  Works,  with  its  ample  chapters  on 
musicians,  and  Baker's  Biographical  Dictionary  of  Musi- 
cians, both  mentioned  before. 

Many  students  will  have  to  begin  their  biographical 

study  with  a  work  grouping 
the  lives  of  the  greatest  com- 
posers in  one  volume. 

We  quote  as  serviceable  ex- 
amples of  this  class  A  Score  of 
Famous  Composers,  by  N.  H. 
Dole (75  cents, Crowell) ;  Makers 
of  Music,  by  H.  F.  Sharp  (^1.75, 
Scribners) ;  Standard  Musical 
Biographies,  by  George  P.  Up- 
ton ($1.75,  McClurg). 

Lives  of   Individual 
Composers 

PHILIP  spiTTA  On    J.   S.    Bach,   the    monu- 

mental Life  of  Bach,  by  Philip 
Spitta  (three  vols.,  $15,  Novello),  is  a  wonderful  example 
of  German  accuracy  and  profundity  and  the  final  au- 
thority on  all  matters  connected  with  the  composer, 
though  beyond  both  the  purse  and  the  time  of  the  aver- 
age reader. 

A  thoroughly  competent  life  in  more  moderate  com- 
pass is  the  Life  of  Bach,  by  C.  H.  H.  Parry,  the  English 
composer  ($3.50,  Putnams). 

Smaller  compendiums,  each  adequate  so  far  as  their 
scope  admits,  are  Life  of  Bach,  by  Stanley  Lane  Poole 
($1,  Scribners),  and  Life  of  Bach,  by  Abdy  WilHams 
(^1.25,  Dutton). 


ESSENTIALS  OF  A  MUSIC  LIBRARY     337 

The  77iagnum  opus  in  Beethoven  Hterature  is  Thayer's 
Life  of  Beethoven  in  several  volumes,  a  remarkably  com- 
prehensive work  originally  published  in  German,  of  which 
an  English  translation  by  Mr.  H.  E.  Krehbiel  will  shortly 
be  issued  by  the  Scribners.  It  will  doubtless  be  the 
final  court  of  resort  on  Beethoven  for  years  to  come. 

Another  account  is  by  Schindler  and  Moscheles  (^1.50, 
Ditson),  both  personal  friends,  which  contains  first-hand 
information.  There  are  also  shorter  sketches  by  Crow- 
est  (^1.25,  Dutton),  and  by  H.  A.  Rudall  (^i,  Scrib- 
ners). 

The  romantic  career  of  Chopin  has  been  told  with 
painstaking  detail  by  Professor  Niecks  in  his  Life  of 
Chopin  (two  vols.,  ^10,  Novello),  but  the  most  brilliant 
account  is  found  in  Chopin,  the  Man  and  His  Musicy 
by  James  Huneker  (^2,  Scribners),  in  which  this  accom- 
plished critic  tells  the  story  and  expounds  his  composi- 
tions in  his  inimitable  and  fascinating  style. 

Liszt's  Life  of  Chopin  (^1.25,  Ditson)  is  more  an 
aesthetic  essay  than  a  biography,  though  interesting 
for  his  interpretation  of  the  composer's  character  and 
ideals. 

Brahms  has  been  commemorated  at  length  in  Florence 
May's  Life  of  Brahms  (two  vols.,  $7,  Longmans),  and  by 
J.  A.  Fuller-Maitland,  a  careful  English  writer,  in  a  vol- 
ume of  the  New  Library  of  Music  Series  ($2.50,  John  Lane 
Company). 

Probably  the  most  modern  and  scientific  account  of 
Handel  is  Life  of  Handel,  by  R.  A.  Streatfeild  (^2.50, 
John  Lane  Company). 

In  smaller  compass  and  good  of  their  kind  are  Mrs. 
Julia  Marshall's  Handel  {$\,  Scribners)  and  Abdy  Wil- 
liams's Handel  (^1.25,  Dutton). 

There  is  no  extended  life  of  Haydn  in  English,  but 
J.  Cuthbert  Hadden's  monograph  in  the  Master  Musician 
Series  (^1.25,  Dutton)  is  trustworthy,  and  there  is  a  still 
smaller  book  by  Ludwig  Nohl  (75  cents,  McClurg). 


338 


ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


The  Life  of  Liszt  has  been  done  in  a  most  picturesque 
and  illuminating  wa}^  by  James  G.  Huneker  {$2,  Scrib- 
ners). 

The  Mendelssohn  literature  is  quite  extensive.  His 
interesting  letters  (two  vols.,  each  ^1.25,  Ditson)  and 
letters  to  Moscheles  ($3,  Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.)  can  be 
cited.  There  are  a  number  of  sketches  and  reminiscences 
of  Mendelssohn  of  more  or  less  value,  such  as  the  volume 

by  Lampadius  (^1.25,  Ditson) 
with  valuable  recollections  by 
his  friends. 

The  Mendelssohn  Family,  by 
Hensel  (two  vols.,  ^5,  Harpers), 
is  of  special  interest  for  the 
light  it  throws  on  his  educa- 
tion and  family  life. 

The    article    by    Sir    George 
Grove  in  his  Dictionary  is  ex- 
cellent for  its  enthusiastic   ap- 
preciation and  characterisation. 
One   of  the    most    impartial 
and    critically    helpful    short 
works  is  the  Life,  by  Stratton  in  the  Master  Musician 
Series  (^1.25,  Dutton). 

Mozart  has  been  honoured  in  the  great  and  scholarly 
work  by  the  accomplished  Otto  Jahn  (three  vols.,  $15, 
Novello),  described  by  a  leading  musician  as  "  in  many 
respects  the  most  perfect  specimen  of  critical  biograph- 
ical writing  in  the  whole  field  of  music  history,"  though 
its  great  bulk  and  enormous  mass  of  detail  necessarily 
limit  its  availability. 

Valuable  additional  works  are  Mozart,  by  W.  H.  Hadow 
($2.50,  John  Lane  Company),  Gehring's  Life  of  Mozart 
{$1,  Scribners),  and  Breakespeare's  Life  of  Mozart  (^1.25, 
Dutton),  any  of  which  will  supply  the  necessary  facts  for 
the  general  reader. 

It  is  a  singular  fact  that  no  adequate  life  of  Schumann 


OTTO  JAHN 


ESSENTIALS  OF  A  MUSIC  LIBRARY     339 

has  appeared  in  English,  but  one  of  the  best  existing  is 
that  by  Reissmann  (^i,  Macmillan). 

In  more  abridged  form  are  FuUer-Maitland's  Life  of 
Schumann  {$1,  Scribners),  and  Wasielewski  s  Life  of 
Schtimami  ($1.25,  Ditson). 

The  most  complete  work  in  English  on  the  life  and 
career  of  Franz  Schubert  was  written  by  Kreissler  von 
Hellborn   in  two  octavo  volumes,  issued   in   London   in 
1869  and  now  out  of  print,  though 
possibly  available  in  second-hand 
condition  occasionally. 

An  admirable  account  is  also 
contained  in  Sir  George  Grove's 
article  in  his  Dictionary  of  Musicy 
and  there  is  a  compact  smaller 
life  by  E.  Duncan  in  the  Master 
Musician  Series  (^1.25,  Dutton). 

The  son  of  Weber,  Max  Weber, 
has  written    an  excellent  critical  carl  glasenapp 

biography  of  his  father  (two  vols., 

^2.50,  Ditson),  and  Sir  Julius  Benedict's  monograph  in 
the  Great  Musician  Series  {$1,  Scribners)  has  the  merit  of 
being  written  by  a  friend  and  pupil  who  was  himself  an 
able  musician. 

The  Wagner  literature  is  extremely  voluminous,  and 
it  is  impossible  to  mention  a  tithe  of  the  biographical 
material.  One  of  the  most  satisfactor}^  lives  is  Henry 
T.  Finck's  Life  of  Wagner  (two  vols.,  ^4,  Scribners), 
noteworthy  for  its  clearness,  picturesqueness,  vigour,  and 
variety. 

Another  important  volume  is  W.  J.  Henderson's  Life 
of  Wagner  ($1.50,  Putnam). 

The  monumental  work  by  Glasenapp  and  Ellis,  of  which 
six  octavo  volumes  (each  $6,  Paul  Trench  &  Co.)  have 
been  issued,  is  splendidly  written,  though  too  voluminous 
for  general  use. 

More  within  the  needs  of  most  persons  are  two  biog- 


340 


ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


raphies  of  high  critical  merit — one  by  Ernest  Newman 
(^3.50,  Dutton)  and  a  more  recent  issue  by  J.  F.  Runci- 
man  (^3.50,  Macmillan). 

Two  short  Hves,  each  worthy  of  chronicle,  are  Life  of 
Wagner,  by  C.  A.  Lidgey  (^1.25,  Dutton),  and  Life  of 
Wagner y  by  Francis  HuefFer  (^i,  Scribners). 

Wagner's  own  autobiography  is,  of  course,  of  high  im- 
portance (two  vols.,  ^8.50,    Dodd,   Mead   &  Company), 
but  has  not  yet  appeared  in  a  popular  edition.     His  cor- 
respondence and  letters  cover  a  number  of  volumes,  the 
most  outstanding  of  which  are  the 
^<5^^^^  celebrated  Wagner-Liszt  Correspon- 

dence (two  vols.,  $5,  Scribners)  and 
his  famous  Letters  to  Alathilde  We- 
sendonck  {$\,  Scribners). 

Critical  Works 


BOOKS     OF      ESSAYS,    APPRECIATION, 
HANDBOOKS,     ETC. 

The   pioneer  work  in  the  litera- 
ture   of   musical    appreciation   was 


HENRY   E.    KREHBIEL 


undoubtedly  How  to  Understand 
Music,  by  the  veteran  New  York  critic,  Henry  E.  Kreh- 
biel  ($1.25,  Scribners),  and  though  it  has  had  many  com- 
petitors since  it  appeared,  it  has  probably  not  been 
surpassed  for  general  acceptability  by  the  American 
musical  public,  whose  needs  it  has  most  successfully 
met. 

Of  a  different  class,  but  of  much  value  to  the  student 
and  music  lover,  are  George  P.  Upton's  skilfully  com- 
piled and  well-illustrated  series  of  handbooks,  The  Stand- 
ard Operas  (^1.75,  McClurg),  The  Standard  Concert  Guide 
— to  symphonies,  cantatas,  oratorios,  etc.  ($1.75,  Mc- 
Clurg), The  Standard  Concert  Repertory — of  the  minor 
compositions  and  musical  forms  (^1.75,  McClurg).  All 
these  have  been  tried  and  tested  and  pronounced  trust- 


ESSENTIALS  OF  A  MUSIC  LIBRARY     341 


worth}^  for  their  compact  marshalling  of  information  con- 
stantly needed  in  reading  and  studying  musical  works. 

Among  such  works  there  must  not  be  omitted  the  men- 
tion of  Sir  George  Grove's  Beethoven  s  Nine  Symphonies 
(j^3,  Novello),  one  of  the  best  books  of  musical  apprecia- 
tion ever  written. 

And    also    Philip    H.   Goepp's   Symphonies   and    Their 
Meanings  (three  vols.,  each  ^2,  Lip- 
pincott),  a  work  full  of  stimulus  and 
inspiration. 

Stories  of  Symphonic  Music,  by  Law- 
rence Gilman  (^1.25,  Harpers),  is  an 
indispensable  guide  to  the  understand- 
ing of  symphonies  new  and  old. 

The  Story  of  Chamber-Music,  by  N. 
Kilburn  in  the  New  Music  Library 
Series  ($1.25,  Scribners),  is  the  only 
volume  in  English  devoted  entirely  to 
this  subject  and  gives  detailed  ac- 
counts of  chamber  compositions  with 
analyses  and  numerous  examples,  illus- 
trations, and  portraits. 

Mr.  W.  J.  Henderson,  among  other  creditable  musical 
achievements,  has  written  an  excellent  monograph,  en- 
titled What  Is  Good  Music  {$\,  Scribners),  full  of  sugges- 
tive instruction  for  the  numerous  class  who  desire  to 
cultivate  a  taste  in  musical  art  and  is  marked  by  its 
brevity,  sturdy  common  sense,  and  well-compacted  in- 
formation. Other  works  of  Mr.  Henderson,  with  valuable 
material,  are  The  Story  of  Music  {$1,  Longmans)  and 
Preludes  and  Studies  {$1,  Longmans). 

A  more  recent  writer,  Daniel  Gregory  Mason,  in  his 
volumes,  A  Guide  to  Music  for  Young  People  and  Other 
Begin7iers  ($1.50,  Doubleday,  Page  &  Company),  The 
Orchestral  Instruments  and  What  They  Do  (^1.50,  Double- 
day,  Page  &  Company),  and  The  Appreciation  of  Music 
(withT.W.  Surette)  (^1.50,  Doubleday,  Page  &  Company) 


W.  J.  HENDERSON 


342        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


has  revealed  unusual  gifts  of  clear  statement  and  literary 
skill  in  popular  exposition.  The  same  author  has  also 
brought  out  some  fresh  and  suggestive  critical  studies  of 
the  old  and  new  composers,  issued  by  the  Macmillans, 
From  Grieg  to  Brahms  (^1.75),  The  Romantic  Composers 
($1.75),  Beethoven  and  His  Forerunners  (^1.75). 

One  of  the  most  pungent,  original,  and  distinctive  of 
all  our  American  writers  is  James  Huneker,  whose  bril- 
liantly written  volumes  have  won  for  him  a  high  place 
in  the  musical  world,  both  here  and  abroad.     His  books, 

Overtones  (^1.25,  Scribners), 
Mezzotints  in  Modern  Music 
(^1.50,  Scribners),  and  also  his 
lives  of  Chopin  and  Liszt,  men- 
tioned elsewhere,  all  reveal  the 
author's  contagious  enthusiasm, 
breadth  of  knowledge,  and  wide 
catholicity  of  taste,  especially  in 
the  interpretation  of  the  modern 
school,  of  which  he  is  a  specially 
gifted  exponent. 

The  Education  of  the  Music 
Lover  (^1.50,  Scribners)  is  by 
Professor  Edward  Dickinson, 
who  calls  it  "a  book  for  those  who  study  or  teach  the 
art  of  listening."  By  it  he  places  both  professional  and 
amateur  readers  in  his  debt  by  his  rare  faculty  of  writing 
about  music  in  a  vitalising  way.  He  is  eminentl}^  fair- 
minded  and  his  liberally  broad  scholarship  makes  him  an 
admirable  leader  in  the  formation  of  intelligent  judgment 
m  musical  affairs. 

Henry  T.  Finck,  for  many  years  in  the  forefront  of 
American  musical  circles  as  critic  of  the  New  York  Eve- 
ning Post,  has  issued  a  volume  the  title  of  which  is  Sue-- 
cess  in  Music  and  How  It  Is  Won  ($1.25,  Scribners), 
which  should  be  in  the  hands  of  all  professional  musicians, 
as  he  there  describes  in  a  very  readable  and  attractive 


JAMES  HUNEKER 


ESSENTIALS  OF  A  MUSIC  LIBRARY     343 

wa3'  how  the  world's  greatest  singers,  pianists,  and  teach- 
ers have  made  their  way.  His  practical  hints  on  a  pro- 
fessional musical  career  cannot  fail  to  be  most  invaluable 
to  those  pursuing  music  as  a  profession. 

The  composer  Schumann's  critical  essays,  collected 
under  the  title  of  Music  and  Musiciayis  (two  vols.,  ^7.50, 
Reeves),  are  unique  in  musical  literature  as  evidencing 
the  union  in  one  personality  of  great  creative  power  with 
rare  critical  acumen  and  abound  in  incisive  thoughts  and 
pithy  sa3'ings. 

The  lectures  of  our  own  E.  A.  Macdowell,  delivered 
while  professor  of  music  at  Columbia  University  and 
gathered  together  under  the  title  of  Critical  and  His- 
torical Essays  (^1.50,  Schmidt),  have  also  a  peculiar  value 
and  interest  on  account  of  his  remarkable  gifts  as  a 
composer. 

Music  and  Poetry,  by  Sidney  Lanier  (^1.50,  Scribners), 
gifted  poet  and  musician,  is  a  clear  and  engaging  out- 
line of  important  aspects  of  musical  criticism,  full  of 
delicate  analj^sis,  educated  enthusiasm,  and  feeling. 

Purity  in  Music,  by  J.  F.  Thibaut  (^1.25,  Reeves),  is  a 
classic  in  criticism,  especially  recommended  by  the  com- 
poser Schumann,  who  advises  his  friends  to  read  it  fre- 
quently for  its  advocacy  of  the  highest  musical  ideals. 

Very  popular  musical  works,  though  to  be  read  with 
caution  on  account  of  an  occasional  "amateur"  quality 
in  them,  are  Music  and  Morals  ($1.25,  Longmans)  and 
My  Musical  Life  (^1.25,  Longmans),  both  by  H.  R. 
Haweis,  written  in  a  singularly  attractive  style  and  cal- 
culated to  awaken  a  decided  interest  in  the  subject  es- 
pecially on  the  part  of  a  beginner  in  musical  reading. 

Musical  ^Esthetics 

The  Beautiful  in  Music  (^1.75,  Novello),  by  E.  Hans- 
lick,  of  Vienna,  is  characterised  by  a  high  authority  as 
"one  of  the  most  gracefully  written  as  well  as  one  of 


344        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

the  keenest  discussions  of  the  nature  and  essence  of  mu- 
sic extant." 

The  Boundaries  of  Music  ($2,  Schirmer),  by  A.  W.  Am- 
bros,  is  designed   as  an   answer  to  HansHck's  work,   an 
opposite  view  being  taken  regarding 
the  power  of  music  to  express  emo- 
tions and  feelings. 

Another  well-known  and  valuable 
aesthetic   work    is    The  ^Esthetics  of 
^^^^^  ^^"^^^  Musical   Art,   by    Ferdinand  Hand 

{$2y  Reeves). 

Church  and  Sacred  Music 

Music  in  the  History  of  the  Western 
Church,  by  Edward  Dickinson  (^2.50 
E.  HANSLiCK  net,  Scribners),  is  practically  a  com- 

plete history  of  church  music.  It 
is  catholic  and  judicial  in  tone,  reveals  wide  and  exact 
scholarship,  is  written  in  a  dignified  style,  and  may  safely 
be  taken  as  an  authority  in  its  important  field. 

Suggestive  volumes  in  the  same  department  are  J.  S. 
Curwen's  Studies  in  Worship  Music  (two  vols.,  ^2.75, 
Curwen),  by  an  experienced  English  musician,  dealing 
largely  with  congregational  singing  and  worship  in  a  fair 
and  candid  way.  Of  a  similar  nature  but  more  practical 
in  its  details  is  Practical  Church  Music  (^1.50,  Revell), 
by  J.  E.  Lorenz,  an  American  church  musician,  which  is 
a  discussion  of  methods,  purposes,  and  plans  and  contains 
valuable  counsel  and  suggestions. 

Professor  W.  S.  Pratt,  of  Hartford  Theological  Sem- 
inary, and  a  wise  and  efficient  worker  in  this  field  for 
years,  has  published  an  admirable  volume  conveying  his 
experience  and  entitled  Musical  Ministries  in  the  Church 
(^1.25,  Schirmer). 


ESSENTIALS  OF  A  MUSIC  LIBRARY     345 


The  Organ  and  Organists 

One  of  the  most  elaborate  and  complete  books  on  the 
construction  of  the  organ  is  Practical  Treatise  on  Organ 
Building,  by  F.  E.  Robertson  (two  vols.,  ^10,  Schirmer). 

A  smaller  work,  interesting  for  its  detailed  account  of 
the  newest  modern  improvements  and  innovations,  is 
Modern  Orgari  Building,  by  Lewis  (^3,  William  Reeves). 

Still  more  compact  are  two  books  by  H.  Abdy  Williams 
in  the  Music  Story  Series,  The  Story  of  the  Organ  and 
The  Story  of  Organ  Music  (each  $1.25  net,  Scribners), 
both  enriched  by  hundreds  of  pictures  and  full  of  facts 
about  the  instrument  and  its  music,  photographs  of 
celebrated  modern  organs,  and  sketches  of  the  great 
organists  of  all  schools. 

Musical   Instruments 
(see  also  under  piano  and  under  violin) 

A  standard  compendium  in  this  line  is  Musical  Instru- 
ments, by  Carl  Engel  ($1.75,  Chapman  &  Hall),  a  capi- 
tal handbook  by  an  expert  antiquarian.  There  are  also 
some  good  illustrations  and  descriptions  of  musical  instru- 
ments in  English  Music  from  160^  to  1904  (^1.25,  Scrib- 
ners). 

The  most  elaborate  treatise  in  English  on  this  topic 
is  Musical  Instruments,  by  K.  Schlesinger  (two  vols., 
$6,  Scribners),  with  hundreds  of  authentic  illustrations 
of  ancient  and  modern  examples. 

Modern  orchestral  instruments  are  fully  described  in 
several  works,  namely:  Orchestral  Instruments  and  Their 
Use,  by  Arthur  Elson  {$2,  L.  C.  Page  &  Company);  The 
Orchestral  Instruments  and  What  They  Do,  by  D.  G. 
Mason  (^1.25,  Doubleday,  Page  &  Company);  How 
to  Listen  to  an  Orchestra,  by  Annie  W.  Patterson  (^1.75, 
James  Pott  &  Co.);    The  Orchestra  and  Orchestral  Music, 


346        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

by    W.    J.    Henderson    (^1.25,    Scribners),    all    excellent 
treatises  and  fulfilling  well  their  purpose. 

The   Opera 

The  most  compact  monograph  in  the  operatic  field  as 
a  whole  is  The  Opera^  Past  and  Present  (^1.25,  Scribners), 
by  a  musical  scholar  of  rare  culture  and  high  ideals,  W.  F. 
Apthorp,  of  Boston,  which  discards  biographical  details 
and  concentrates  attention  on  the  growth  and  expansion 
of  the  various  features  of  the  art  and  the  parts  played 
in  its  development  by  the  different  composers. 

On  an  entirely  different  plan  but  of  unquestionable 
value  in  its  own  way  is  Arthur  Elson's  Critical  History 
(^1.50,  L.  C.  Page  &  Company).  One  of  Mr.  H.  E. 
Krehbiel's  deservedly  popular  works  is  his  A  Book  of 
Operas  ($1.75,  Macmillan),  which  gives,  with  the  author's 
abundant  familiarity  with  the  theme  and  trained  capacity 
for  literary  expression,  their  histories,  their  plots,  and  their 
music.  Another  operatic  production  of  his  pen  is  Chap- 
ters of  Opera  ($2.50,  Holt),  a  real  contribution  to  the  his- 
tory of  music  in  New  York. 

Of  fine  critical  quality  is  The  Opera,  by  R.  A.  Streat- 
feild  (^1.25,  Lippincott),  an  English  writer  of  high  repute, 
which  includes  full  descriptions  of  every  work  in  the 
modern  repertory. 

In  the  useful  Music  Story  Series  is  contained  the  Story 
of  the  Opera,  by  E.  Markham  Lee  (^1.25,  Scribners),  which 
presents  a  great  variety  of  topics,  some  of  which  are  not 
touched  upon  in  other  books. 

Handbooks   to   the   Opera 

Of  handbooks  and  guides  to  the  operas  and  their  plots 
there  is  no  lack.  The  oldest  and  probably  the  most 
popular  and  generally  satisfactory  is  The  Standard  Operas, 
by  George  P.  Upton  (^1.75,  McClurg),  now  brought  out 
in  a  much  enlarged  and  superior  form. 


ESSENTIALS  OF  A  MUSIC  LIBRARY     347 

Other  worthy  handbooks  are  Guide  to  the  Opera  and 
its  companion  volume  Guide  to  the  Modern  Opera,  by- 
Esther  Singleton  (each  ^1.50,  Dodd,  Mead  &  Companj^), 
full  of  striking  and  glowing  analyses;  The  Standard 
Opera  Glass,  by  Charles  Annesley  ($1.50,  Brentano),  and 
The  Opera  Goer's  Complete  Guide,  by  Leo  Melitz  (^1.50, 
Dodd,  Mead  &  Company),  both  of  which  are  particu- 
larly noted  for  the  very  large  number  of  operatic  works 
included  in  them  even  though  the  notices  are  necessarily 
much  condensed. 

The  critical  works  dealing  with  the  Wagner  operas 
would  form  almost  a  library  in  themselves,  so  we  must, 
perforce,  confine  our  suggestions  to  a  small  number.  Ac- 
cording to  many  well-informed  judges  the  best  all-around 
book  is  the  Music  Dramas  of  Richard  Wagner,  by  A. 
Lavignac  (^2.50,  Dodd,  Mead  &  Companj^),  notable  for 
its  clearness,  conciseness,  and  impartiality. 

The  Legends  of  the  Wagner  Drama,  by  Jessie  L.  Weston 
($1.75,  Scribners),  gives  accurate  knowledge  respecting 
the  historic  legends  on  which  Wagner  based  his  dramas, 
and  H.  E.  Krehbiel's  Studies  in  the  Wagnerian  Dramas 
(^1.25,  Harper),  contains  illuminating  Wagnerian  criti- 
cism. 

Among  the  numberless  guides  to  the  motifs  of  the 
Wagner  dramas.  The  Wolzogen  series  in  several  volumes 
is  authoritative  (75  cents  each,  Schirmer). 

Oratorio,   Cantata,   and   Choral    Music 

A  single  volume  covering  altogether  the  subject  of 
oratorio  music  is  called  The  Story  of  the  Oratorio,  by 
Annie  W.  Patterson  (^1.25,  Scribners),  and  is  the  most 
complete  and  fully  illustrated,  consecutive,  and  historical 
treatment  of  this  art  form  now  available. 

George  P.  Upton's  volumes,  the  Standard  Oratorios  and 
the  Sta7idard  Cantatas,  are  now  incorporated  into  his  ex- 
cellent work  the  Standard  Concert  Guide  ($1.75,  McClurg), 


348        ESSENTIALS   IN   MUSIC  HISTORY 

which  gives  full  sketches  of  the  stories,  analyses  of  the 
music,  and  particulars  about  composers. 

Arthur  Mees,  the  well-known  musical  conductor,  has 
contributed  to  the  Music  Lover's  Library  a  work  entitled 
Choirs  and  Choral  Alusic  ($1.25,  Scribners),  which  prac- 
tically occupies  this  field  alone,  so  far  as  sj^stematic  treat- 
ment is  concerned,  and  presents  the  necessary  data  about 
choral  works,  choral  societies,  and  the  conducting  and 
management  of  choirs  and  choir  singing  in  concise  but 
satisfactory  form. 

Pianists  and  the  Pianoforte 

For  piano  students  there  is  no  more  appetising  work  to 
begin  with  than  Amy  Fay's  Music  Study  in  Germany 
(^1.25,  McClurg).  Though  issued  years  ago,  it  is  still 
widely  popular  as  a  fresh  and  vivid  picture  of  the  strug- 
gles and  the  successes  of  an  American  student  abroad 
with  its  lifelike  and  graphic  accounts  of  the  teaching 
methods  of  Liszt,  Deppe,  and  other  great  masters. 

On  the  great  virtuosos  we  find  Great  Violinists  and 
Pianists,  George  T.  Ferris  (^i,  Appletons),  with  its  glow- 
ing and  highl}^  rhetorical  sketches  of  players  from  de- 
menti to  Paderewski. 

A  standard  reference  book  is  A.  Ehrlich's  Celebrated 
Pianists  {$2,  Presser),  with  carefully  collected  biograph- 
ical notices  of  over  one  hundred  and  fifty  performers,  in 
alphabetical  arrangement  and  with  numerous  portraits, 
including  sketches  of  twenty-five  noted  American  pian- 
ists. 

The  lives  of  the  pianists  Chopin  and  Liszt,  important 
in  this  connection,  have  been  already  mentioned  in  the 
biographical  section  of  this  chapter. 

To  these  we  may  add  the  little  volume  on  Paderewski^ 
by  E.  A.  Baughan,  in  the  Living  Masters  of  Music  series 
(^i,  John  Lane  &  Company);  the  Autobiography  of  Ru- 
binstein {$1,  Little,  Brown  &  Company). 


ESSENTIALS  OF  A   MUSIC  LIBRARY     349 

Possibly,  the  volume  giving  most  information  to  the 
general  reader  will  be  The  Pianoforte  and  Its  Music,  by 
H.  E.  Krehbiel  (^1.25,  Scribners),  in  which  he  has  com- 
passed the  whole  subject  in  a  sound  and  thorough  man- 
ner, treating  of  the  instrument  itself,  the  composers  of 
its  music,  and  the  great  players,  giving  the  typical  stu- 
dent or  amateur  just  the  sort  of  information  most  needed. 

A  book  valued  by  many  is  J.  C.  Fillmore's  Pianoforte 
Music  ($1.50,  Presser),  with  clearly  arranged  biograph- 
ical sketches  and  critical  estimates  of  the  schools  and  com- 
posers. 

More  elaborate  volumes  are:  History  of  the  Pianoforte 
and  Its  Players,  by  Oscar  W.  Bie  (^6,  Dutton),  embel- 
lished with  attractive  illustrations,  and  also  History  of 
Pianoforte  Playing  and  Piano  Literature,  by  C.  F.  Weitz- 
mann  (^2.50,  Schirmer),  somewhat  formal  in  style  but 
exact  in  its  facts. 

A.  J.  Hipkins's  Description  and  History  of  the  Piano- 
forte (^1.25,  Novello)  is  by  an  expert  on  instruments  and 
contains  valuable  plates  showmg  various  historical  forms 
of  the  instrument. 

On  the  analysis  of  pianoforte  compositions,  a  subject 
of  growing  interest  among  musical  students,  there  are 
several  books,  among  them  being  Descriptive  Analysis 
of  Piano  Works  for  Clubs  arid  Program  Making,  by  E.  B. 
Perry  (^2.00,  Presser);  Weil-Known  Piano  Solos,  by 
C.  W.  Wilkinson  (four  parts,  each  40  cents,  Scribners), 
showing  how  to  play  them  with  understanding,  expres- 
sion, and  effect,  and  Elterlein's  book  on  Beethoven  s  So- 
natas (^1.25,  Reeves). 

On  Chopin's  works  we  can  recommend  J  Handbook  of 
Chopin's  Works,  by  G.  C.  Ashton  Jonson  {$2,  Scribners), 
in  which  each  opus  is  placed  in  its  proper  sequence  and 
followed  by  lucid  explanations  and  brief  critical  extracts, 
forming  an  invaluable  book  of  ready  reference. 

We  must  also  refer  here  to  Huneker's  well-known  work 
on  Chopin,  the  Man  and   His  Music,  mentioned  in  the 


350        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

biographical   section,   which    includes    masterly    analyses 
of  Chopin's  piano  compositions. 

The  Great  in  Music,  by  W.  S.  B.  Mathews  (two  vols., 
^3.50,  Mathews'  Company),  is  a  systematic  course  of 
study  in  the  music  of  classical  and  modern  composers, 
and  is  a  work  of  great  suggestiveness  and  practical  help- 
fulness for  student  clubs.  And  on  the  same  line  is  Music 
Club  Programs,  hy  Arthur  Elson  (^1.25,  Ditson),  which 
embraces  historical  outlines  of  all  nations,  schools,  and 
composers,  with  questions  for  study. 

The  Violin  and  Violinists 

The  literature  on  the  violin  is  much  larger  than  that 
on  any  other  instrument.  A  peculiar  fascination,  felt  by 
all  lovers  of  the  instrument,  attaches  to  its  history.  A 
most  valuable  collection  of  books  in  this  division  is  the 
Strad  Library  (about  twenty  vols.,  each  ^i.  The  Strad, 
London),  covering  exhaustively  all  phases  of  the  instru- 
ment, manufacture,  playing,  etc. 

The  Story  of  the  Violin,  by  Paul  Stoeving  (^1.25, 
Scribners),  is  a  concise  and  closely  packed  brochure,  with 
pertinent  facts  and  abundant  illustrations  to  brighten 
its  pages. 

On  the  old  and  classic  instruments  no  book  stands 
higher  as  an  authority  than  that  by  the  English  violin 
maker  George  Hart,  called  The  Violin,  Its  Famous 
Makers  and  Their  Imitators  {$G,  Dulau  &  Company),  and 
its  companion  volume  by  the  same  writer,  The  Violin  a?id 
Its  Music  ($5,  Dulau  &  Company). 

On  violin  manufacture  and  construction.  Heron  Allen's 
Violin  Making  as  It  Was  and  Is  (^3,  Scribners)  is  very 
thorough  and  practical,  with  all  kinds  of  specifications  and 
plans.  On  a  smaller  but  most  useful  scale  is  Broadhouse's 
The  Violin  and  How  to  Make  It  (^1.50,  William  Reeves). 

On  lives  of  the  violinists  the  reader  will  find  Ehrlich's 
Celebrated    Violinists,   Past   and   Present  {$2,  Scribners), 


ESSENTIALS  OF  A  MUSIC  LIBRARY     351 

though  not  adapted  for  consecutive  reading,  useful  for 
consultation,  with  its  numerous  carefully  gleaned  bio- 
graphical details. 

More  vivacious  volumes  are  Great  Pianists  and  Violin- 
ists y  by  G.  T.  Ferris  (^i,  Appletons),  and  Famous  Vio- 
linists of  To-Day  and  Yesterday ,  by  H.  C.  Lahee  (^1.50, 
L.  C.  Page  &  Company). 

Among  the  many  technical  works  on  violin  playing  we 
may  mention  Technics  of  Violin  Playing,  by  Carl  Cour- 
voisier,  a  well-known  authority  (^i,  The  Strad);  Chats 
to  Violin  Students,  by  G.  C.  Corrodus  (^i.  The  Strad); 
True  Principles  of  Violin  Playing,  hy  George  Lehman 
(^i,  Schirmer);  and  Catechism  of  Violin  Playing,  by  C. 
Schroeder  (^i,  Augener),  all  the  works  of  acknowledged 
experts  in  the  field. 

The  Voice  and  Singing 

It  is  impossible  to  give  here  any  account  of  the  num- 
berless voice  methods  of  varying  degrees  of  excellence, 
and  only  a  few  of  the  most  famous  books  which  have 
been  tested  by  time  and  experience  can  be  cited.  Among 
these  are  Voice,  Song,  and  Speech,  by  Brown  and 
Behnke  {$2,  Putnams),  two  noted  London  specialists; 
The  Hygiene  of  the  Vocal  Organs,  by  Dr.  Morell  Mac- 
kenzie (^1.25,  Werner);  How  to  Sing,  by  Lilli  Lehman 
(^1.50,  Macmillan);  Hints  on  Singing,  by  Manuel  Gar- 
cia (^1.50,  Schuberth);  The  Philosophy  of  Si7iging,  by 
Clara  Rogers  ($1.50,  Harpers);  The  Art  of  the  Singer, 
by  W.  J.  Henderson  (^1.25,  Scribners),  a  book  of  general 
all-around  interest;  and  a  host  of  others. 

On  the  literature  of  songs  there  is  a  delightful  little 
account  by  H.  T.  Finck  called  Songs  aiid  Song  Writers 
(^1.25,  Scribners),  filling  a  niche  all  by  itself  and  aptly 
called  "a  song  Baedeker,"  so  crowded  and  crammed  is 
it  with  good  things. 

The  fives  of  great  singers  is  a  subject  of  vivid  interest 


352        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

to  many  and  there  are  two  small  volumes  by  George  T. 
Ferris,  entitled  Great  Singers  (two  vols.,  each  ^i,  Apple- 
ton),  written  with  literary  colour  and  charm. 

Henry  C.  Lahee's  Famous  Singers  of  To-Day  and  Yes- 
terday ($1.50,  L.  C.  Page  &  Company)  gives  carefully 
gathered  information. 

The  life  of  the  celebrated  voice  teacher  Madame 
Mathilde  Marchesi,  called  Marchesi  and  Music  (^2.50, 
Harpers),  though  marred  by  egotism,  abounds  in  inter- 
esting passages. 

Especially  attractive  is  the  story  of  the  renowned  Gar- 
cia, the  inventor  of  the  laryngoscope,  who  lived  to  the 
great  age  of  one  hundred  and  knew  personally  every 
great  musician  of  three  generations,  called  Garcia  the 
Centenarian,  and  His  Time,  by  M.  S.  Mackinlay  (^4, 
Appletons). 


CHAPTER  XLIII 

EXAMINATION   PAPERS   IN  MUSIC   HISTORY,  SET 
BY   SCHOOLS   AND   COLLEGES 

The  papers  that  follow  will  give  the  reader  a  compre- 
hensive idea  of  the  scope  and  extent  of  music  history  as 
a  study  in  schools  and  colleges.  In  nearly  all  instances 
the  subject,  presented  in  the  form  of  lectures,  requires 
work  based  upon  one  or  more  text-books  and,  in  addi- 
tion, a  certain  amount  of  research  over  a  somewhat 
extensive  bibliography. 

No.  I. 

NEW  YORK  STATE  EDUCATION  DEPARTMENT 

History  of  Music 

Answer  six  questions  from  this  group. 

Group  I.  i.  What  do  the  terms  "classic"  and  "romantic"  signify- 
as  applied  to  periods  of  music  history?  Give  the  approximate  date  of 
the  beginning  of  each  period  and  name  six  important  composers  be- 
longing to  each. 

2.  Name  three  great  oratorios  by  different  composers  and  briefly 
describe  each. 

3.  What  composer  is  called  the  "creator  of  the  modern  song"? 
What  did  he  do  for  the  song  to  justify  this  praise?  Name  four  of 
his  greatest  songs. 

4.  Give  an  account  of  the  origin  and  development  of  the  orchestra. 

5.  What  composers  have  written  the  finest  music  for  the  orchestra? 
Name /o Mr  of  the  greatest  symphonies  the  world  has  yet  known. 

6.  State  the  distinctive  influence  on  opera  or  the  contribution  to 
opera  of  each  of  the  following  composers:  Gluck,  Wagner,  Weber, 
Beethoven,  Verdi,  Mozart,  Rossini,  Gounod.  Arrange  the  names  in 
chronologic  order  and  name  one  opera  of  each. 

7.  For  what  is  each  of  the  following  musicians  most  esteemed:  J. 
S.  Bach,  Muzio  Clementi,  Hector  Berlioz,  Paganini,  F.  Chopin,  Franz 

353 


354        ESSENTIALS  IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

Liszt,  Georges  Bizet,  Anton  Rubinstein,  Peter  Tschaikowsky,  Anton 
Dvorak,  Edvard  Grieg,  Edward  Elgar? 

8.  Why  are  Bach,  Beethoven,  and  Brahms  often  ranked  together? 
Write  quite  fully  concerning  the  life  and  work  of  one  of  these  musi- 
cians and  briefly  concerning  the  work  of  the  other  two. 

No.  2. 

NEW  YORK  STATE   EDUCATION  DEPARTMENT 
History  of  Music 

Answer  eight  questions  from  this  group. 

1.  Write  briefly  on  the  contrapuntal,  classic,  and  romantic  schools 
of  music,  stating  the  characteristics  of  each  and  naming  its  most  dis- 
tinguished representatives. 

2.  Write  briefly  on  the  music  of  Richard  Strauss  and  Claude  De- 
bussy. State  what,  in  your  opinion,  individualises  the  work  of  each. 
Name  at  least  three  of  the  representative  compositions  of  each. 

3.  Answer  both  a  and  b: 

a.  Name  four  European  composers  specially  esteemed  for  their 
songs,  state  where  and  when  each  one  lived,  and  name  two 
well-known  songs  of  each. 

h.  Name  three  eminent  American  song  composers  and  mention 
tzvo  songs  of  each. 

4.  Name  at  least  two  distinguished  musical  contemporaries  of  {a) 
Louis  XIV,  (b)  Napoleon,  (c)  Queen  Victoria. 

5.  Describe  briefly  the  classical  symphony.  Name  six  symphonic 
writers.     Give  a  list  of  symphonies  that  you  have  heard  or  studied. 

6.  Answer  a,  b,  c,  and  d: 

a.  When  was  the  pianoforte  invented?     What  did  it  supersede? 

b.  When  did  Clementi  live?     What  influence  had  he  and  his  fol- 

lowers on  the  growth  of  piano  composition  and  technic? 

c.  Name  some  of  the  piano  compositions  of  Chopin,  Beethoven, 

Schumann,  and  Liszt.     Write  briefly  of  the  style  of  each. 

d.  Name  six  famous  pianists  now  living. 

7.  Give  the  prevailing  characteristics  of  music  in  the  period  between 
{a)  1400-1600,  {b)  1600-1700,  (c)  1700-1800,  {d)  1800-1900. 

8.  Distinguish  between  the  forms  in  each  of  the  following  groups: 
{a)  cantata  and  oratorio,  {b)  grand  opera,  romantic  opera,  and  opera 
comique,  (c)  symphony  and  symphonic  poem.  Name  one  composition 
of  each  class,  with  its  composer. 

9.  Write  briefly  on  the  general  characteristics  of  {a)  classical  music, 
Q))  romantic  music,  (c)  programme  music.  Name  three  representative 
composers  of  each  style  with  one  work  of  each. 


EXAMINATION   PAPERS  355 


No.  3.  (a). 

INSTITUTE  OF  MUSICAL  ART  OF  THE  CITY  OF 
NEW  YORK 

Examination  in  Music  History 

Special  Course 

1.  Remark  on  (a)  The  contrast  between  the  ancient  and  the  mod- 
ern conception  of  music, 

Or  (b)  The  growth  of  musical  notation. 

2.  Contrast  the  piano  with  preceding  keyboard  instruments. 

3.  Describe  the  origin  and  purpose  of  the  opera  as  an  art  form. 

4.  What  is  a  sonata  and  by  whom  and  when  was  its  modern  form 
specially  determined? 

5.  Give  an  account  of  the  orchestra  and  the  styles  peculiar  to  it. 
N.  B.     Any  one  question  may  be  omitted  for  the  sake  of  answering 

the  others  more  fully. 

No.  3.  {b). 

Examination  in  Music  History 

General  Course 

1.  What  forms  or  styles  of  composition  were  already  prominent 
before  1700?     Give  a  brief  account  of  one  of  these. 

2.  What  was  Handel's  preparation  for  oratorio  writing?  When  and 
why  did  he  enter  upon  it  and  with  what  results? 

3.  Give  an  outline  of  Bach's  life  with  special  comment  on  some  one 
aspect  of  his  style  and  genius  that  Interests  you. 

4.  Compare  Haydn  and  Mozart  as  to  personality,  career,  style,  and 
influence. 

5.  Remark  on  Beethoven's  life  and  work  in  relation  to  the  advance 
of  musical  art  at  the  opening  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

N.  B.  Any  one  question  may  be  omitted  for  the  sake  of  answering 
the  others  more  fully. 

No.  4. 
HARVARD  UNIVERSITY 

Music  3 

The  given  order  of  questions  to  be  followed.  Write  legibly.  Express 
yourself  clearly. 

I.  Name  four  composers  between  Schubert  and  Richard  Strauss 
who  have  contributed  to  the  development  of  the  German  Lied.  Name 
four  well-known  lyric  poets  from  whom  the  texts  for  their  songs  were 


356 


ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 


often  taken.  What  are  the  special  features  of  the  German  art  song  in 
distinction  from  the  folk-song?  Give  the  titles  of  six  representative 
German  songs,  one,  at  least,  of  each  of  the  composers  treated  above. 

2.  State  the  leading  facts  in  the  life  of  Von  Weber.  In  what  im- 
portant respects  did  he  differ  as  a  musician  from  his  predecessors.'' 
What  were  the  national  tendencies  of  his  time  and  how  do  his  works 
embody  these  tendencies?  Describe  the  characteristics  of  romantic 
opera  as  conceived  by  Von  Weber  and  name  his  chief  works  in  this 
field.  Who  were  three  of  the  lesser  composers  of  this  type  of  opera 
associated  with  him? 

3.  Describe  the  prominent  characteristics  of  Chopin's  music  and 
name  the  works  which  best  represent  his  style.  Give  a  list  of  the 
celebrated  artistic  and  literary  people  with  whom  Chopin  associated 
in  Paris  during  the  decade  1830-40. 

4.  In  what  three  classes  may  all  programme  music  be  grouped? 
Name  a  representative  composer  of  programme  music  in  the  seven- 
teenth, eighteenth,  and  nineteenth  centuries.  Describe  clearly  what 
has  been  the  influence  of  Berlioz  and  of  Liszt  upon  modern  orches- 
tral music.  Name  several  important  works  of  each  composer.  What 
term  did  Liszt  invent  and  apply  to  his  orchestral  works?  What  is  the 
essential  difference  in  content  and  treatment  between  works  of  this 
type  and  the  classic  symphony?  What  were  some  of  Liszt's  mani- 
fold activities?  What  four  cities  are  prominently  associated  with 
his  career? 

5.  Name  standard  compositions  by  various  composers  which  find 
their  source  in  the  works  of  the  following  authors:  Shakespeare,  Goethe, 
Schiller,  Scott,  Byron,  Hugo.  Comment  briefly  on  the  connection  in 
any  one  of  these  works  between  the  literary  basis  and  the  musical 
treatment. 

6.  Name  the  composer  and  branch  of  music  of  each  of  the  following 
compositions:  Fingal's  Cave,  V Africaine,  Prince  Igor,  The  Merry 
Wives  of  Windsor,  181 2  Overture,  Hans  Heiling,  Tod  und  Verkldrung, 
Reflets  dans  I'eau,  Sampson  and  Delilah,  Scheherazade,  Sakuntala, 
Louise,  Boris  Godounow. 

7.  Describe  the  social  and  political  conditions  of  Italy  during  the 
first  seven  decades  of  the  last  century.  In  the  works  of  what  composer 
are  these  conditions  most  vividly  reflected?  Name  several  of  his 
works.  What  striking  use  was  often  made  of  his  name?  Who  is  the 
most  prominent  living  exponent  of  Italian  music?  Name  three  of  his 
well-known  works. 

Take  eitlier  question  S  or  g 

8.  Contrast  briefly  the  essential  characteristics  of  Russian,  Norwe- 
gian, and  Hungarian  folk  music. 


EXAMINATION  PAPERS  357 

9.  State  the  prominent  characteristics  and  mention  at  least  one  rep- 
resentative work  of  each  of  the  following  masters:  Grieg,  Dvorak, 
Tschaikowsky,  Cesar  Franck,  Chabrier,  Brahms,  Debussy,  d'Indy. 

10.  What  are  the  striking  differences  between  the  music-drama  of 
Wagner  and  the  former  type  of  opera?  Give  a  chronological  list  of 
Wagner's  works  and  describe  the  changes  in  his  dramatic  ideals  and 
musical  style  which  these  works  embody.  Mention  two  incidents  in 
Wagner's  life  which  influenced  strongly  his  inspiration.  Explain  the 
terms  "leading  motive"  and  "transformation  of  motive." 

No.  5. 
HARVARD  UNIVERSITY 

Music  3 

1.  Give  some  account  of  the  influence  of  Beethoven  during  the 
nineteenth  century.     On  whom  did  he  react  and  in  what  manner? 

2.  Compare  and  differentiate  the  romanticism  of  Weber  (instru- 
mental music),  Mendelssohn,  Schubert,  and  Schumann. 

3.  Trace  the  general  course  of  programme  music  from  Beethoven 
to  the  present  day.  Mention  as  many  specific  works  as  possible  to 
give  point  to  your  statements. 

4.  State  wherein  consists  the  greatness  of  Chopin.  What  were  the 
sources  of  his  piano  style  and  of  his  forms?  What  was  his  treatment 
of  sonata  form?     Comment  on  Chopin  as  nationalist. 

5.  In  what  respects  was  Berlioz  a  pioneer?  Show  clearly  the  rela- 
tion between  the  artistic  and  sociological  conditions  of  the  times  and 
Berlioz's  musical  standpoint.  Describe  his  personality  as  man  and 
artist.  What  contemporaries  were  influenced  by  him?  What  was 
Berlioz's  attitude  toward  opera?     Toward  sonata  form? 

6.  Describe  Liszt's  attainments  and  influence  as  a  pianist.  What 
were  the  sources  of  his  epoch-making  technic?  Comment  on  Liszt 
as  transcriber.  What  did  he  accomplish  at  Weimar?  Describe  the 
symphonic  poem  in  respect  to  form  and  contents.  Where  and  on 
whom  has  the  influence  of  Liszt  reacted  most  noticeably  ? 

7.  Outline  briefly  the  conditions  existent  in  French  and  Italian  opera 
during  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Wherein  consisted 
Wagner's  "reform"  of  opera.  What  are  the  important  stages  in  his 
work  as  a  dramatic  composer?  What  were  the  origin  and  function  of 
the  leading  motive?    Comment  briefly  on  Wagner's  use  of  the  orchestra. 

8.  Compare  and  differentiate  the  critical  activity  of  Schumann, 
Berlioz,  Liszt,  and  Wagner. 

9.  Select  any  six  of  the  following  names  for  a  concise  summary  of 
their  characteristics  as  composers  and  their  historical  influence: 
Brahms,  Tschaikowsky,  Bruckner,  Saint-Saens,  Richard  Strauss,  Cesar 


358        ESSENTIALS  IN  MUSIC  HISTORY 

Franck,  Grieg,  Dvorak,  Moussorgsky,  Debussy,  Elgar,  Rimsky-Kor- 
sakow,  d'Indy,  MacDowell. 

No.  6. 
YALE  COLLEGE 

semiannual  examination 
Music  3 — History  of  Music 

1.  How  is  design  in  music  shown?  Is  painting  a  more  imitative 
art  than  music  or  less? 

2.  Contrast  Chinese  and  Hindu  scale  systems.  Of  what  nature  are 
modern  European  scales?  Give  a  short  account  of  ancient  Greek  and 
mediaeval  church  scales. 

3.  Define  organum,  counterpoint,  discant.  Describe  the  steps 
taken  during  the  Middle  Ages  toward  the  development  of  harmony. 

4.  Who  was  Adam  de  la  Halle,  Frescobaldi,  Guido  of  Arezzo,  John 
Dunstable,  Henry  Purcell,  Orlando  Lasso? 

5.  Give  an  account  of  the  Netherlands  school  of  composers  with 
names  and  approximate  dates. 

6.  Write  a  short  biographical  sketch  of  Palestrina.  To  what  kind 
of  music  did  he  restrict  himself?  What  is  the  present  importance  of 
his  music?     How  does  it  differ  from  the  music  of  our  own  time? 

7.  Compare  folk  music  and  art  music. 

8.  State  the  achievements  and  limitations  of  early  choral  music. 

9.  What  serious  errors  in  church  music  was  Palestrina  called  upon 
to  correct? 

ID.  Describe  early  musical  instruments  and  the  style  of  music 
written  for  them. 

No.  7. 

YALE  COLLEGE 

semiannual  examination 

History  of  Music 

1.  Write  a  biographical  sketch  of  Bach  with  a  discussion  of  his  posi- 
tion in  music. 

2.  What  important  influences  tended  to  make  Handel's  style  differ- 
ent from  that  of  Bach?     In  what  does  this  difference  consist? 

3.  Give  a  brief  history  of  oratorio,  naming  important  composers  and 
their  works. 

4.  Describe  the  growth  and  climax  of  sonata  form. 

5.  Wherein  lies  the  greatness  of  Beethoven? 

6.  Contrast  and  explain  classicism  and  romanticism.  Classify 
under  these  two  heads  the  French  and  German  composers  from  the 


EXAMINATION   PAPERS  359 

time   of  Bach   to   that   of  Wagner.     Arrange  the  names  chronologi- 
cally. 

7.  How  many  symphonies  are  known  by  Beethoven,  Brahms,  Schu- 
mann, Tschaikowsky,  Wagner? 

8.  Give  an  account  of  the  development  of  opera  in  Italy  from  its 
beginning  to  the  present,  with  composers'  names,  dates,  and  works. 

9.  Give  a  like  account  of  opera  in  Germany. 

10.  Explain  the  Wagnerian  system  of  opera  and  name  as  many  of 
Wagner's  operas  as  you  can. 

11.  Mention  important  works  by  each  of  the  following  composers: 
Haydn,  Mozart,  Handel,  Liszt,  Chopin,  Weber,  Saint-Saens,  Verdi, 
Berlioz,  Schumann. 

12.  What  is  a  symphonic  poem?  What  composer  is  identified  with 
the  earliest  examples  of  this  kind  of  music?     Name  three  of  his  works. 

No.  8. 
TUFTS   COLLEGE 

1.  Write  for  about  fifteen  minutes  on  one  of  the  following  sub- 
jects: (a)  Ambrose  and  Gregory,  (b)  Palestrina  and  Lasso,  (c)  minne- 
singers and  mastersingers. 

2.  Indicate  briefly  the  significance  of  the  following:  {a)  Antipho- 
narium,  (b)  canon,  (c)  Bayreuth,  (d)  aria,  (e)  ballad,  (/)  chorale, 
(g)  figured  bass,  (h)  discant,  ({)  recitative,  (;)  mode,  (k)  equal  tem- 
perament, (/)  opera  comique. 

3.  Name,  with  approximate  dates,  some  composers  who  have  had 
important  influence  on  the  development  of  opera,  and  state,  if  you 
can,  the  contribution  which  each  made  to  that  development. 

4.  Give  author,  nature,  and  approximate  date  of  the  following  works: 

a.  St.  Paul. 

b.  The  Creation. 

c.  The  Unfinished  Symphony. 

d.  Benvenuto  Cellini. 

e.  The  Huguenots. 

/.  Iphigenia  in  Tauris. 
g.  Oberon. 
h.  Carmen. 
i.  Kaiserquartet. 
y.  Pastoral  Symphony. 
k.  The  Lamentations. 
/.  Genoveva. 
m.  Mors  et  Vita. 
n.  Life  for  the  Czar. 
0.  Aid  a. 


36o        ESSENTIALS   IN  MUSIC   HISTORY 

p.  Romeo  and  Juliet. 
q.  Marriage  of  Figaro, 
r.   Ein  Heldenleben. 
s.  Pathetic  symphony. 
t.   Parsifal. 
u.   Kreutzer  Sonata. 
V.  Judas  Maccabaeus. 
zv.  Summer  is  a-coming  in. 

5.  Give  approximate  date  and  chief  claim  to  fame  of  the  follow- 
ing: C.  P.  E.  Bach,  Berlioz,  Chopin,  Lully,  Kuhnau,  Dufay. 

6.  Take  a  topic,  biographical  or  historical,  which  has  interested  you 
and  outline  an  essay  upon  it.     Use  syllabus  form  if  you  choose. 

N.  B.  If,  in  No.  4,  you  discover  any  names  applying  to  two  works, 
name  both. 

No.  9. 
OBERLIN  CONSERVATORY 

1.  What  circumstances  brought  Handel  to  England?  In  what 
period  of  his  life  did  he  compose  his  Italian  operas,  and  what  was 
their  general  character? 

2.  Why  did  he  turn  to  writing  oratorios? 

3.  How  does  the  oratorio  differ  from  the  opera  and  from  church 
music? 

4.  Where  is  the  influence  of  the  Italian  opera  shown  in  Handel's 
oratorios? 

5.  What  can  be  said  of  his  choruses:  range  of  style  and  expression, 
variety  of  structure,  dramatic  quality,  etc.? 

6.  Under  what  conditions  was  the  work  of  Sebastian  Bach  produced? 
What  different  national  influences  are  found  in  his  music?  What  has 
been  the  nature  of  his  influence  upon  later  art? 

7.  What  were  the  leading  movements  in  music  just  after  Bach's 
time? 

8.  Give  an  outline  of  the  development  of  the  symphony  up  to 
Beethoven. 

9.  What  is  the  sonata  form? 

10.  How  was  the  orchestra  constituted  in  the  time  of  Haydn  and 
Mozart?     What  additions  were  made  by  Beethoven? 

11.  How  did  Beethoven  complete  the  form  in  symphony  and  so- 
nata? 

12.  What  is  the  significance  of  Beethoven  in  the  development  of 
expression? 

13.  What  do  you  consider  the  chief  elements  in  the  greatness  of 
Beethoven  ? 


INDEX  OF  NAMES 


Adam  (de  la  Halle),  66,  85,  128. 

Agricola,  M.,  113,  187. 

Ahle,  J.  G.,  157. 

Ahle,  J.  R.,  157. 

Albrechtsbergcr,  J.  G.,  215,  252,  254. 

AUegri,  G.,  127. 

Amati,  187. 

Ambrose,  St.,  34,  35,  50,  128. 

Animuccia,  G.,  127,  143. 

Aribo,  53. 

Ariosti,  A.,  148,  218. 

Aristoxenos,  25. 

Arkadelt,  J.,  103. 

d'Astorga,  E.,  196. 

Auber,  D.  F.  E.,  271. 

Bach,  J.  A.,  221,  223. 

Bach,  J.  Ch.,  221. 

Bach,  J.  S.,  139,  IS7,  165,  177,  221, 

224. 
Bach,  P.  E.,  17^,  240,  242^^' 
Bach,  v.,  221. 
Bach,  W.  F.,  225. 
Balfe,  M.,  273. 
Bardi,  G.,  143. 

Beethoven,  L.  van,  252  et  seq. 
Bellini,  V.,  272. 
Benda,  G.,  232. 
Bennett,  J.,  127. 
Berchem,  J.,  112. 
Berger,  H.,  275. 
Berger,  L.,  250. 
Berlioz,  H.,  287. 
Bizet,  G.,  271. 
Bodenschatz,  E.,  131. 
Boes,  J.  van,  112. 
Boieldieu,  F.  A.,  271. 
Boito,  A.,  272. 
Bononcini,  G.,  196,  218. 
Bordoni,  F.,  209. 


Brahms,  J.,  299. 
Briegel,  W.  C,  157. 
Bruhns,  W.,  169. 
Brumel,  A.,  102,  105. 
Bull,  J.,  127,  184. 
Bull,  O.,  323. 
Billow,  H.  von,  291. 
Busnois,  A.,  84,  97,  98. 
Buxtehude,  D.,  169. 
Byrd,  W.,  127,  184. 

Caccini,  G.,  144. 
Caldara,  A.,  196. 
Calvicius,  S.,  137. 
Cambert,  R.,  205. 
Carey,  H.,  206. 
Carissimi,  G.,  127,  148,  190. 
Caron,  F.,  96. 
Cavalieri,  E.  del,  144. 
Cavalli,  F.,  148,  190. 
Cesti,  M.  A.,  148,  190. 
Charlemagne,  62. 
Charpentier,  G.,  317. 
Chatelaine  de  Coucy,  63. 
Chaucer,  G.,  60,  JJ. 
Cherubini,  L.,  269,  275,  290. 
Chopin,  F.,  65,  284. 
Christofori,  B.,  176. 
Cimarosa,  D.,  271. 
Clari,  G.  M.,  196. 
Clayton,  T.,  206. 
Clement  (non  Papa),  112. 
Clementi,  M.,  249. 
Colonna,  G.  P.,  196. 
Compere,  L.,  105. 
Conti,  F.,  197. 
Corelli,  A.,  127,  187. 
Cornelius,  P.,  291. 
Cottonius,  J.,  53. 
Couperin,  F.,  177,  179,  181. 


361 


362 


INDEX 


Cowen,  F.,  273. 
Cramer,  J.  B.,  250. 
Croce,  G.  della,  126. 
Criiger,  J.,  139. 
Czerny,  C,  290. 

Danican,  A.,  204. 
Darwin,  C,  6. 
David,  F.,  291, 
Davidson,  T.,  24. 
Debussy,  C,  317. 
Dietmar  von  Kiirenberg,  71. 
Dittersdorf,  C.  D.  von,  231. 
Donati,  B.,  126. 
Dowland,  J.,  127. 
Dufay,  G.,  96,  98,  128. 
Dukas,  P.,  317. 
Dunstable,  J.,  95. 
Durante,  F.,  127,  190. 
Dussek,  J.  L.,  250. 
Dux  (Ducis),  B.,  105. 
Dvorak,  A.,  310. 

Eccard,  J.,  138. 
Elgar,  E.,  273. 
Engel,  C,  19. 
Ephraem,  St.,  38. 
Epictetus,  32. 

Faber,  D.,  174. 
Farnaby,  G.,  184. 
Faugues,  V.,  96. 
Feo,  F.,  127,  191. 
Ferrabosco,  D.,  127. 
Ferrari,  B.,  148. 
Festa,  C,  112,  127. 
Fetis,  J.  F.,  II,  191. 
Field,  J.,  251. 
Finck,  Heinrich,  106,  113. 
Finck,  Hermann,  106,  107. 
Flotow,  F.  von,  268. 
Forkel,  J.  N.,  106. 
Fortsch,  J.  P.,  212. 
Franck,  C,  317. 
Franck,  J.  W.,  212. 
Franck,  M.,  139,  152. 
Franco  of  Cologne,  55,  90,  i: 
Franco  of  Paris,  55,  90,  128. 
Freschi,  G.,  166,  182. 


Frescobaldi,  G.,  166,  182. 
Froberger,  J.  J.,  168. 
Fulda,  A.  de,  113. 
Fux,  J.,  186,  196,  207,  215. 

Gabrieli,  A.,  126. 

Gabrieli,  G.,  126,  139,  154. 

Gafurius,  F.,  54,  112. 

Galilei,  V.,  145. 

Galuppi,  B.,  196. 

Gasparini,  F.,  195. 

Gastoldi,  G.,  126. 

Gaultier,  D.,  179. 

Gay,  J.,  218. 

Gerbert,  M.,  53. 

Gibbons,  O.,  127,  184. 

Glareanus,  H.,  112. 

Glinka,  M.,  273. 

Gluck,  C.  VV.  von,  233,  269. 

Goetz,  H.,  268. 

Goldmark,  C,  268. 

Gombert,  N.,  103,  xo8. 

Gossec,  F.  J.,  202,  203,  271. 

Gottfried  von  Strassburg,  72. 

Goudimel,  C,  112,  126,  127. 

Gounod,  C,  271. 

Graun,  K.  H.,  208. 

Gregory,  17,  36,  38,  128. 

Gretry,  A.,  204. 

Grieg,  E.,  310. 

Guarneris,  187. 

Guido  of  Arezzo,  47,  51,  53, 

128. 
Guillaume  de  Marchant,  91. 

Halevy,  J.,  270. 
Hall,  J.  L.,  42. 
Halleck,  R.  P.,  42,  77. 
Hammerschmidt,  A.,  139. 
Handel,  G.  F.,  213,  216. 
Hartmann  von  Aue,  72. 
Hasse,  J.  A.,  208. 
Hassler,  H.  L.,  137. 
Hastings,  T.,  322. 
Haydn,  J.,  231,  240,  242. 
Heinrich  von  Meissen,  72. 
Heinrich  von  Morungen,  72. 
Heinrich  von  Veldecke,  68. 
Helmore,  Rev.  T.,  39. 


89,  92, 


INDEX 


363 


Hermann,  N.,  135. 

Herold,  L.  J.  F.,  271. 

Hilarius,  40. 

Hiller,  J.  A.,  251. 

Hilton,  J.,  127. 

Hobrecht,  J.,  102. 

Holden,  O.,  322. 

Hollander,  C,  118. 

Holzbauer,  I.,  233. 

Horn,  J.  C,  188. 

Hucbald,  44,  51,  89,  91,  92,  128. 

Hummel,  J.  N.,  250. 

Humphrey,  P.,  184. 

Isaac,  H.,  106,  136. 

Jannequin,  C,  104,  107. 
Jean  de  Garlande,  90. 
Jean  de  Muris,  57,  91. 
Jerome,  of  Moravia,  57,  91. 
Jerome,  St.,  32. 
Joachim,  J.,  291,  300. 
Jommelli,  N.,  191. 

Josquin  des  Pres,  102,  105,  107,  116, 
128. 

Keiser,  R.,  122. 
Kerll,  J.  K.,  208. 
Kirnberger,  J.  P.,  215. 
Klengel,  A.  A.,  250. 
Koninck,  96. 

Konrad  von  Wiirzburg,  72. 
Kretschmer,  E.,  268. 
Kreutzer,  K.,  268. 
Kugelman,  H.,  135. 
Kuhnau,  J.,  185,  186,  221. 
Kusser,  J.  S.,  212. 

Lane,  E.  W.,  13. 

Lasso,  O.  di,  114,  128. 

Legrenzi,  G.,  148,  195. 

Lekeu,  G.,  317. 

Leo,  L.,  127,  190. 

Leoncavallo,  R.,  272. 

Leonin,  90. 

Lind,  J.,  323. 

LIndpainter,  P.  J.  von,  268. 

Liszt,  P.,  289. 

Locke,  M.,  205. 


Lortzing,  A.,  268. 
Lotti,  A.,  195. 
Lotti,  G.,  195. 
Lully,  G.  B.,  197,  199. 
Luther,  M.,  132,  134. 

MacFarren,  G.,  273. 

Mackenzie,  A.,  273. 

Mandeville,  Sir  J.,  77. 

Marcello,  B.,  127. 

Marcellus  II,  124. 

Marchetto  of  Padua,  57. 

Marenzio,  L.,  127. 

Marpurg,  F.  W.,  215. 

Marschner,  H.,  266. 

Marullo,  B.,  186. 

Marxsen,  E.,  299. 

Mascagni,  P.,  272. 

Mason,  L.,  322. 

Massenet,  J.,  271. 

Mattheson,  J.,  177,  186,  213,  214. 

Mazarin,  Cardinal,  198. 

Mehul,  E.,  269. 

Melanchthon,  P.,  135. 

Mendelssohn,  F.,  275. 

Merulo,  C,  126,  166. 

Meyerbeer,  J.,  270. 

Mingotti,  A.,  215. 

Molinari,  148. 

Moniusko,  S.,  273. 

Monsigny,  S.  A.,  204. 

Monte,  P.,  118. 

Monteverde,  C.,   144,   146,   148,   150, 

188,  190. 
Morley,  T.,  127,  184. 
Moscheles,  L,  275. 
Mozart,  L.,  247. 
Mozart,  W.  A.,  236,  246. 
Muffat,  G.,  179. 
Muffat,  T.,  186. 
Miiller,  W.,  232. 
Mussorgski,  M.,  273. 

Nanini,  B.,  127. 
Nanini,  G.,  127. 
Naumann,  E  ,  58,  86. 
Neri,  P.,  142,  150. 
Nicolai,  O.,  268. 
Nithardt  von  Reuenthal,  72. 


364 


INDEX 


Odington,  W.,  57,  90,  95. 

Okeghem  (Ockenheim),  loi,  106,  116, 

128. 
Osiander,  L.,  137. 
Ovid,  32. 

Pachelbel,  J.,  168. 

Paer,  F.,  272. 

Paesiello,  G.,  193,  194,  271. 

Paganini,  N.,  291. 

Palestrina,  L.,  112,  116,  121,  128. 

Pasquini,  B.,  167,  190,  195. 

Paumann,  C,  166. 

Pergolesi,  G.  B.,  191,  192. 

Peri,  J.,  144,  146,  198. 

Perotin,  90. 

Petrucci,  O.,  105. 

Petrus  de  Cruce,  57,  90. 

Pezelius,  J.,  188. 

Phillip  de  Vitry,  57,  91. 

Philo,  33. 

Piccini,  N.,  192,  193,  235. 

Pierre  de  la  Croix  (Petrus  de  Cruce). 

Pitoni,  G.  O.,  195. 

Plato,  26. 

Politianus,  142. 

Porpora,  N.,  191. 

Praetorius,  M.,  138,  187. 

Puccini,  G.,  272. 

Purcell,  H.,  184,  205. 

Pythagoras,  25. 

Quinault,  P.,  199. 
Quintilian,  32. 

Raff,  J.,  291,  305. 
Rameau,  J.  P.,  182,  202. 
Ravel,  M.,  317. 
Regis  (de  Roi),  96. 
Reichardt,  J.  F.,  233. 
Reinmar  von  Zweter,  72. 
Reischius,  G.,  100. 
Rhau,  G.,  136. 
Righi,  F.,  148. 
Righini,  V.,  271. 
Robert  of  Sabillon,  90. 
Rore,  C.  de,  iii. 
Rosenmiiller,  J.,  157. 
Rossini,  G.,  272. 


Rousseau,  J.  J.,  202,  232. 
Rubinstein,  A.,  273,  291,  307. 
Ruggieri,  G.,  148. 
Rusiczka,  258. 

Sachs,  H.,  73,  74. 

Saint-Saens,  C,  271. 

Salieri,  A.,  258,  260,  269,  271,  290. 

Salinas,  F.,  113. 

Sarti,  G.,  271. 

Scarlatti,  A.,  127,  148,  149,  190. 

Scarlatti,  D.,  127,  149,  180,  182,  183. 

Scheidt,  S.  G.,  158. 

Schein,  J.  H.,  139,  157. 

Schelle,  K.  E.,  38. 

Schenck,  J.,  232. 

Schubert,  F.,  258. 

Schumann,  C,  300. 

Schumann,  R.,  279,  299,  300. 

Schiitz,  H.,  136,  137,  153,  168. 

Sebastiani,  J.,  157. 

Senfl,  L.,  136. 

Spencer,  H.,  6. 

Spervogel,  71. 

Spohr,  L.,  266. 

Spontini,  G.,  270. 

Staden,  S.  G.,  158. 

Stanford,  C.  V.,  273. 

Steffani,  A.,  195. 

Stradella,  A.,  148,  149. 

Stradivari,  A.,  186,  188. 

Strauss,  R.,  in,  289,  318. 

Strunck,  N.  A.,  212. 

Sullivan,  Sir  A.,  273. 

Sweelinck,  J.  P.,  113,  168. 

Sylvester,  40. 

Tallis,  T.,  127,  184. 
Tartini,  G.,  187. 
Tausig,  C,  291. 
Telemann,  G.  P.,  214. 
Terpander,  25. 
Theile,  J.,  158. 
Thibaut,  62. 
Thomas,  A.,  271. 
Tinctoris,  J.,  108,  112,  126. 
Torelli,  G.,  187. 
Tschaikowsky,  P.  I.,  273. 


INDEX 


365 


Vaet,  J.,  118. 
Valdecke,  H.  von,  68,  71. 
Vecchi,  O.,  148. 
Verdelot,  P.,  1 1 2. 
Verdi,  G.,  272. 
Viadana,  L.,  144. 
Viotti,  G.  B.,  187. 
Vitry  (Phillip  de  V.,  q.  v.). 
Vittoria,  L.  de,  127. 
Vogel,  J.  C,  268. 
Vogler,  Abbe,  267. 

Wagner,   R.,   69,    75,    76,    iii,    291, 

294. 
Wallace,  W.  V.,  273. 
Wallaschek,  R.,  6. 
Walther,  J.,  135,  136. 


Walther  von  der  Vogelweide,  72. 

Ward,  J.,  127. 

Weber,  C.  M.  von,  267,  279. 

Weelkes,  T.,  127. 

Wieck,  C.,  280. 

Wieck,  F.,  279. 

Wiegl,  J.,  232. 

Willaert,  A.,  108,  no,  119,  126,  128. 

William,  abbot  of  Hirschau,  53. 

William  of  Poitiers,  63. 

Winter,  P.  von,  232. 

Wolfram  von  Eschenbach,  72. 

Zarlino,  G.,  no,  113,  165. 
Zeelindia,  96. 
Zelter,  C.  F.,  275. 
Zingarelli,  N.,  272. 


